Interview between Fabrice Collet, CEO B&B Hotels and Vanguélis Panayotis, CEO MKG Consulting. The time of a confined coffee (Le temps d'un café confiné), return on the Coronavirus crisis and its impact on the B&B Hotels group. Video of the interview in available in French.
In partnership with the French Government, Airbnb is today launching a local expansion of their Open Homes program to connect medical staff and caregivers battling the coronavirus outbreak in France with free places to stay offered by local Airbnb hosts.
As the COVID-19 situation in France has worsened, the country's daily hotel occupancy plummeted to as low as 3.3% on 17 March, according to preliminary data from STR and In Extenso TCH.Daily occupancy in the country was as high as 65.3% on 26 February and had been positioned above 30% through 12 March. However, a sharp downward trend began as the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases grew and the government implemented measures to combat the spread. STR's most recent data for 17 March showed that just three of 100 rooms on average were occupied in the country.
At 8pm, the number of people who died from COVID 19 in France was officially 91 and the number of confirmed cases was above 4,500.
Born in Saint-Etienne, France, Stéphane Gras has a Bachelor's degree in International Hotel Management from the Ecole Hôtelière de Lausanne, Switzerland. Stéphane began his career at the Waldorf Astoria in New York before joining Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts in 1999 as Assistant Room Service Manager at Four Seasons Hotel New York.
Radisson Hotel Group is proud to announce that Cour des Loges hotel in Vieux-Lyon, a UNESCO World Heritage listed district, will join Radisson Collection. The latest signing brings the Group's portfolio in France to 19 hotels and 3,280 rooms in operation or under development.
The award-winning Dutch hospitality brand Zoku announces its arrival in Paris, France, with the new Zoku scheduled to open in 2021.
Off-plan hotel leases are often complex and lengthy contracts to negotiate. The parties involved generally engage in several rounds of negotiations, and both the owner and tenant must bitterly debate the guarantees imposed by the former, whose financial stakes are high.
IHG® Hotels & Resorts (IHG®), one of the world's leading hotel companies, recently hosted the hit television show "Modern Family" in the "City of Love" while filming on-location in Paris for the show's farewell season. Crowne Plaza® Paris - République, a global flagship hotel showcasing a host of distinctive brand features, served as a key filming location for the special Valentine's Day episode, entitled "Paris," which included scenes with many of the series' principal characters.
The Hilton Garden Inn Paris Orly Airport is now open and welcoming guests. The 105-guest room hotel is the latest addition to the growing Hilton Garden Inn portfolio, one of Hilton's (NYSE: HLT) 17 market-leading brands.
Fairmont Hotels & Resorts is delighted to announce a new Global Brand Ambassador - the Oscar-winning actress and UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador, Susan Sarandon. In this unique role, Ms. Sarandon will star in a global brand campaign that will portray the transformative power of travel, connecting Fairmont's history and majestic hotels with modern sensibilities and the dreams of a new generation of travelers. The campaign is expected to be revealed in key markets around the world in Spring 2020.
France is now a major focus market for Cycas and, as RGM for France, Luc Vicherd will lead Cycas's growing operations in the country. Luc joins Cycas from the successful French operator OLETIS, where he was Director of Operations for 12 properties, and brings 15 years' experience working with Accor, IHG and Marriott. Based in Paris, Luc will oversee Cycas's fast-growing French business, currently five hotels, including Hyatt's first European dual-branded hotel: a Hyatt Place and Hyatt House development due to open by Charles de Gaulle airport in late 2020.
Hilton (NYSE: HLT) announced the signing of a franchise agreement with the Dokhan Luxury Hotels Group to open the 46 guest-room Le Belgrand Hotel Paris Champs Elysées, Tapestry Collection by Hilton, the first Tapestry-branded hotel to open in France. The hotel will open in the first quarter of 2020. Located in the central Paris neighbourhood of the 16th district, this upscale Tapestry Collection hotel is close to the city's visitor attractions, including the Arc de Triomphe and the Champs Elysées Avenue, two of the world's most visited landmarks.
A grand plan of architectural masterworks and lush with trees, Porte de Versaille Expo is hardly what you expected. The exhibition centre itself is almost a city within a city. So much so that it's quite easy to stroll amidst the exhibitors' many stands and become lost in the vast space of Paris' largest exhibition centre. And after a long day of work or a walk, your Mama will be there to take care of you.
Omnam Group and Marriott International today announced the signing for the development of two Marriott International branded hotels, a Sheraton Hotels and Resorts and a Moxy Hotel in Bagnolet, in the eastern suburbs of Paris. Scheduled to open in a couple of years, the hotels are owned by Omnam Group and managed by Marriott International, and will cover a total area of 37000 square meters. The emerging neighbourhood of Bagnolet, close to the centre of Paris, offers easy access in to the city via Metro line three in just over 10 minutes.
Following several challenging years, recovery continues in the French travel market, according to Phocuswright's latest travel research report, France Online Travel Overview 2019. Since the election of reformist President Emmanuel Macron in 2017, the country has reduced its budget deficit while curtailing unemployment and restoring consumer confidence. Unfortunately, the country's reputation as a destination was badly affected by the violent Yellow Vest protests in early 2019, which disrupted locals and tourists alike. And the travel sector's reputation has also been tarnished by several high-profile bankruptcies in late 2019, most notably the collapse of industry giant Thomas Cook and the failures of the number two and three French airline players — XL Airways France and Agile Azur. Though unrelated, these near-simultaneous events have cast an air of malaise over the French travel market, casting a dark shadow over what would otherwise have been a stellar year.
By way of background, It was originally the historic 5-star hotel of the Rothschild family. Now, the three Chalets (each named after Benjamin and Ariane de Rothschild's first three daughters) will offer three unique experiences - Chalet Eve has kept its traditional style, Chalet Noémie features classic luxury décor and refined elegance and Chalet Alice offers a bohemian chic atmosphere - Alice and Noémie can be completely privatised. Chalet Ève, offering 25 rooms and suites, is also home to the Prima restaurant which recently earned a Michelin star thanks to its Chef Nicolas Hensinger, and the Spa by Bamford for all the Chalets, fully renovated in 2019 and equipped with an indoor-outdoor pool overlooking stunning mountainscapes.
Those who live there today continue to enjoy lodgings and dining that belong to a centuries-old tradition. It was the beginning of hospitality in Europe. Later, with the development of economic exchanges throughout the old continent, inns and hotels flourished.
With a wealth of experience in international luxury hotel management for the last 20 years, Vincent Billiard is now the youngest General Manager of a Palace in Paris.
Canopy by Hilton, Hilton's (NYSE: HLT) lifestyle hotel brand, today announced the signing of a development agreement and a long-term lease between Novaxia Investissement and Dutch hotel operator Borealis Hotel Group for the 150-room Canopy by Hilton Paris Quartier Latin. The hotel, which is expected to open at the end of summer 2022, will be located on rue Lacépède, near Place Monge, Jardin des Plantes and in the heart of the Latin Quarter, one of Paris' most diverse and culturally rich districts.