The governance crisis that is affecting the Accor group would have at least had the merit of stimulating a little bit of awareness of turbulent circumstances. The group changed its status, passing from the target of criticism to an object of appeals. It is when the boat reels that one remembers that it is the flagship of a whole fleet that is quite happy to profit from its wake.
The largest, privately-owned hotel chain in Paris – Les Hotels de Paris – has signed with global channel manager, SiteMinder, to sell its rooms on the world's major online booking sites.
Hyatt Hotels & Resorts has announced the appointment of Michel Morauw as General Manager of Hyatt Regency Paris Etoile, formerly known as the Concorde Lafayette located in Paris, France. Hyatt will take over the management of Hotel Concorde Lafayette in April, as part of recently announced deal including four iconic hotels.
February's timid upswing was short lived, as rooms revenue fell in March both in Paris and throughout France. The shift in the school holiday period had inflated performances in business destinations in February, temporarily erasing the difficult economic context. In March, the decline was even steeper, with regional France in particular feeling the pinch. The Luxury segment – less dependent on the national market – was the only category to extricate itself.
The ESSEC MBA in Hospitality Management (IMHI) celebrated its 30th anniversary on 25 April 2013. The event took place at ESSEC with a full programme including conferences, lunch and campus visit. ESSEC's MBA IN HOSPITALITY MANAGEMENT (IMHI) program is firmly positioned as a leader in graduate hospitality education in Europe and in the world. It is consistently ranked first among tourism/hospitality postgraduate degrees in France. It is taught in English. The training is given to a limited number of highly motivated candidates who wish to continue their studies to an MBA level and to focus on the international side of the hospitality industry. The programme can last 11 or 23 months, based on age and experience.
Accor's Board of Directors met April 23rd at the request of its Chairman, Denis Hennequin, with all Directors in attendance. During this meeting, all the Directors came to the joint conclusion regarding the Group's situation: that the strategy adopted is the right one and that it will remain unchanged. However, given current economic conditions and the rapid transformation of its competitive environment, Accor must accelerate the implementation of this strategy in order to reinforce its positions. The Board therefore requested that the top priority be given to focusing energy and resources on transforming Accor's business model. The Board took note of Denis Hennequin's reservations and unanimously voted to terminate his mandate with immediate effect on April 23, 2013.
Hyatt Hotels & Resorts has announced the appointment of Claudio Ceccherelli as General Manager of Grand Hyatt Cannes Hotel Martinez, located in Cannes in the South of France. This appointment takes place after the management agreement signed between an affiliate of Hyatt Hotels Corporations and Constellation Hotels Holdings Ltd., allowing Hyatt to reinforce its presence in France and to position itself in Cannes.
Marriott International, Inc. (NYSE: MAR) has continued the expansion of its joint venture with AC Hotels with the opening of two new properties – the AC Hotel Nice on the French Riviera and the AC Hotel Sant Cugat in Catalonia, Barcelona. The two new hotels will be welcome additions to the AC Hotels by Marriott brand, which launched in 2011 and now offers over 80 hotels across Europe.
Although increasing occupancy did tend to ultimately compensate for the drop in average rates, there were two exceptions: the Luxury segment, whose RevPAR rose by +2.3% and Super-budget hotels whose RevPAR dropped by -1.8%. However, a deeper analysis of the various hotel markets illustrates that geographical differences exist.
Since it opened to the public in 1909, the majestic Hôtel de Crillon has been an icon of French refinement. On Sunday, this iconic hotel, now owned by a senior Saudi prince, will close its doors for two years to undergo a major renovation intended to restore some of its former splendor. The facelift will be directed by the Lebanese architect and designer, Aline d’Amman. Ms. d’Amman, whose agency, Culture in Architecture, has collaborated on various design and decoration projects in the Middle East, has hired three interior decorators based in Paris, Cyril Vergniol, Chahan Minassian and Tristan Auer.
Diplômé en gestion hôtelière à l’Ecole Hôtelière de Lausanne, Gérald officiait précédemment au poste de Directeur des Opérations au Hilton Arc de Triomphe Paris. Fort d’une solide expérience dans le domaine de la restauration, acquise notamment grâce à un poste de Directeur de la Restauration au sein d’un grand hôtel bruxellois, Gérald est un passionné de gastronomie et de spiritueux.
Today Stephen P. Joyce , President and CEO of Choice Hotels International, Inc., (NYSE: CHH), gave an insightful keynote speech at this year's MIPIM conference inCannes, France, the world's leading property market conference that brings together all the key players in the real estate business -- investors, developers, end-users, architects, hotel groups, public authorities and property associations.
The year 2013 started badly for the French hotel industry. With the exception of a few destinations currently benefitting from locally-held events, the majority of French cities recorded results inferior to last year's. Declining occupancy had a harmful effect on rooms revenue in Paris and on the Côte d'Azur, too.
MICROS Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MCRS), a leading provider of information technology solutions for the hospitality and retail industries, is pleased to announce the release of a certified MICROS interface for Louvre Hotels Group. This interface allows Louvre Hotels Group to display price and availability information next to its hotel listings in Google search results, Google Maps and Places pages, and Google Hotel Finder. As this capability is live, this valuable data is now available to the global Google audience.
The 17th session of the Global Lodging Forum was concluded by a strategic round table, during which international hotel group leaders clearly demonstrated their will to be on the offensive to regain control in areas where other actors have begun to dictate their own laws as well. The priorities are clearly for a new organization of the teams; tighter control over the distribution; a global presence without engaging capital; and to challenge brand marketing.
Louvre Hotel Group has upgraded its centralized distribution strategy to enable its properties worldwide to access onward third party distribution with a fully automated solution with seamless rate updates including reservation delivery. The company, with more than 1100 properties, has selected RateTiger's enterprise connectivity solution to implement two-way connectivity with Louvre's MICROS Opera ORS reservation system for their Premiere Class, Campanile and Kyriad brands. RateTiger will allow Louvre properties to update rates and inventory while retrieving booking data from strategic global travel distribution partners including Agoda, Orbitz, HotelSpecials.nl and Bookit.nl amongst others. To meet regional and local distribution requirements, Louvre Hotels will continue using RateTiger's Channel Manager to take advantage of its vast distribution network of travel sites to allow hotels to focus on local market demand. RateTiger, from eReMax, is a fully integrated channel management and connectivity solution that entirely automates the connection between hotel inventory systems and distribution channels, regardless of business model, connectivity type or geography. Leveraging the flexibility of RateTiger, Louvre can maximize its revenue opportunity and reduce its distribution costs by quickly and efficiently increasing its distribution reach. "One of our key goals as a Hotel company is to offer our hotels and franchisees a robust distribution network which enables them to manage existing partners efficiently and to capture incremental revenue by connecting with new partners across the world" , said Chinmai Sharma, vice president of revenue management and distribution, Louvre Hotels Group. "eRevMax is a great technology partner for us as it has the full suite of products and services to meet our global and regional distribution needs," Sharma added. "Working with Louvre Hotels Group reinforces our commitment to providing the global hospitality industry with market leading products and services to meet all their revenue and distribution needs," said eRevMax COO Greg Berman. "Being trusted by another leading a global hotel chain to implement and manage its global distribution strategy demonstrates the importance of our role within the industry." The RateTiger enterprise connectivity solution delivers real-time connectivity between CRS/PMS, electronic sales channels including GDS, OTAs, IDS, Wholesalers, Tour Operators and other travel sales companies processing online hotel bookings. It supports full enterprise integration with 2-way XML connectivity; all delivered in a Software-as a Service (SaaS) model for the mid-market and Tier 1 hotel groups, counting Accor and NH Hoteles among its implemented client list. About eRevMax: eRevMax International is a premier security certified global software and services house. The company is one of the leading providers of online distribution, smart channel connectivity, market intelligence and revenue management solutions for the hospitality and travel industry. RateTiger and SimpleDistribution are the two main product brands. Incorporated in 2001, eRevMax serves over 6000 customers in over 100 countries and 1800 cities worldwide with offices and R&D Centres across continents. About Louvre Hotels Group: Following their respective purchase by Starwood Capital in 2005 and 2009, the alliance between Louvre Hôtels and Golden Tulip became Louvre Hotels Group in April 2011, making it a leader in the global hospitality market with more than 1,050 hotels in 42 countries ranging from 1 to 5 stars. The Group, established in 1976, now counts 6 brands: Première Classe, Campanile, Kyriad, Tulip Inn, Golden Tulip and Royal Tulip Luxury Hotels. Louvre Hotels Group, actively pursuing its development in France and abroad, plans to open 76 new hotels worldwide in 2012 and focuses on strong growth areas such as India, Brazil, the Middle East, North Africa and targeted European markets. For more details, please visit www.erevmax.com or contact us on [email protected]
Nor1's upsell platform is designed to meet the needs of forward-thinking hoteliers, such as Louvre Hotel Group, looking for a enterprise-level way to optimize revenue, loyalty and the overall guest experience at all key touch-points. Comprised of Nor1's upsell solutions, eStandby Upgrade and FrontDesk Upsell, the data-driven platform creates a personalized commerce environment that enables hotels to make relevant and targeted upsell offers delivered post-confirmation, pre-arrival, at check-in, and throughout an individual guest's stay.
The annual Global Lodging Forum (GLF) will take place this Monday and Tuesday (25 & 26 February) bringing together over 500 key decision-makers from the hotel and hospitality industry to converse on key industry trends.
Prince de Galles, a Luxury Collection Hotel, Paris is set to re-open in May 2013 following an extensive two-year restoration. This is part of a larger project undertaken by Starwood Hotels & Resorts and its owners to invest $200 million to renovate and restore some of its most emblematic European hotels under the Luxury Collection brand: Hotel Alfonso XIII in Seville and Hotel Maria Cristina in San Sebastian re-opened in 2012, and most recently, the Gritti Palace in Venice opened its doors on February 1st.
Christian Clerc (EHL 1992) has become General Manager of the Parisian palace, the George V ( Four Seasons group) and replaces Christopher Norton (EHL 1980) who has been promoted within the group. Mr. Clerc, who was previously general manager of the Four Seasons hotel in Washington, will also become the area vice-president in charge of the group’s hotels in Milan, Florence, Geneva and Marrakech.