I have marked what I would do, but given your sensible exclusions, I would encourage him to follow aptitude and interest for the rest. Skills and relationship with likely teachers might also come into it! :)
We use Accor quite a lot and am surprised at this. A couple of things we have discovered which might not help your plight directly, but suggests that the relationship with Accor and the hotel can be more distant. Some of the Novotels are directly owned by Accor; others seem to be franchised...