Author: Laurent delporte

Elegancia: A New Look at the Hotel Industry

Interview with Philippe Vaurs, founder of Elegancia Hotels Philippe is an alchemist of the hotel industry. A well-respected influencer at the EQUIPHOTEL Salon, his modus operandi is to invest in hotels which he then transforms and even metamorphoses thanks to architects that he selects with the utmost care and originality. He has turned the Parisian hotel […]

metier de service

The Art of Welcoming and Service Professions in the United States

Service professions devoted to the art of welcoming in partnership with the association O’Service   This organization led by Denis Courtiade is devoted to restoring meaning and value to service careers. The organization holds as its objective to unite agents working in the French service profession to better advise service professionals of today and the future. […]

FIAC 2016: Contemporary Art and Luxury Hotels

FIAC: Contemporary art and luxury hotels—towards a new Eldorado? At the latest Foire Internationale d’Art Contemporain (FIAC) in Paris, I reflected on the importance of contemporary art in Palaces and 5-star hotels. A fervent defender of the French art of welcoming, I am of the belief that contemporary art has always been an integral element of our DNA. […]

art de recevoir mauricien

The St. Regis Hotel in Mauritius: The Mauritian Art of Welcoming

The Mauritian Art of Welcoming Meets the Italian Art of Welcoming I recently met with Rocco Bova, when he was the General Manager of the St. Regis Hotel in Mauritius. An Italian by origin, he has spent the last several years in Mauritius, where he’s brought his expertise as a hotelier from his time at […]

Luxe

Selecting Interior Designers at Accor Hotels

Choosing Interior Designers A Conversation with Julie Grégoire. I’ve met her when she used to work for Accor as Operational Director of Luxury, High-End, and Thalassa France. How do you decide on an interior designer? What are the necessary qualities and criteria? How much room do you give for new talents? Do you always select experts? […]

Training Hotel Staff by M Gallery

An Engaging Internal Training Program  What happens when you open a hotel? How do you train your staff teams? In each Sofitel, we have a person dedicated to training. Even better, we have a ‘flying’ trainer on hand in case a trainer is absent or when we need more specific training sessions around the brand’s […]

A woman sunbathing on a yacht in the turquoise waters of British Virgin Islands.

Differentiation in the Hotel Industry

Differentiation in the Hotel Industry Achieving differentiation in the hotel industry is a key element for offering clients a memorable and quality experience. With the help of Charles De Foucault, General Manager of One&Only Le Saint Géran, I sought out to understand the key elements in the differentiation of a hotel. Numerous international luxury brands have […]

Melia

Hotel Construction in Paris

The Stages of Construction for the Mélia La Défense Paris Hotel I recently met with an investor who was seeking to acquire a hotel for the first time. He asked me if it was better to acquire an existing hotel or to sign on to construct a new hotel. The answer to this, of course, […]

Guerlain

The House of Guerlain: The French Art of Welcoming

The House of Guerlain I had the pleasure of meeting Louis de Vilmorin, the International Director of Institutes & Spa Guerlain, at the Hotel and Spa Forum held on June 19 at the George V Four Seasons Hotel in Paris. This was a very interesting forum where professionals from various European countries came together to listen […]

thalassotherapie_ecoute_client_tourelles

Phélippeau: The Art of Welcoming in Thalassotherapy

I had the pleasure of meeting Stéfany and Jean Pascal Phélippeau, who allowed me to discover the Hotel Château des Tourelles (****), as well as the Center of Thalassotherapy—Relais Thalasso—located in the Bay of La Baule. I leave you to discover the rest in the following interview. How do you translate the art of welcoming […]

Restaurants and Luxury Hotels: Dining round the Clock

How are dining behaviors evolving in luxury restaurants and hotels? During the latest salon SuccessFood, three issues facing restaurants today were laid out before industry experts. Let’s consider the issue of “round-the-clock dining.” Here’s a well-established offering in luxury hotels. One should be able to eat whenever one feels like it. Open bars in the lobbies will likely be […]

Meilleur Ouvrier de France – Receptionist

A Conversation with Gilles Le Bras, organizer of the ‘Meilleur Ouvrier de France’ competition for hotel receptionists. Back when I was a Director of Accommodations, I had the pleasure of serving as member of AICR (Amicale Internationale des Chefs de Réception), an international association for reception managers and assistant directors of large hotels. This dynamic association […]

The Art of Welcoming in France, the Maranatha Way

[et_pb_section admin_label=”section”] [et_pb_row admin_label=”row”] [et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_text admin_label=”Text”] Does France Need to Work on the French Art of Welcoming? I recently met with Olivier Carvin, CEO for the Maranatha Group. We were able to exchange our views on the French art of welcoming.  What is your point of view on the French art of welcoming? Does […]