Sleeping in the dark: How does one sleep well in a room? How do you prefer to sleep? In total darkness, in plain light, or in semi-darkness? In plain light, you will you will never have a problem with sleeping in hotels; any room will work fine, and you will likely be able to sleep […]
Creating spas in luxury hotels… There have been several development phases in the world of luxury hotels. After putting the spotlight on gastronomy by recruiting well-known chefs in their establishments, luxury hotels began re-centering their efforts around spas around the 2000’s. Each fine hotel must now possess a spa with prestigious cosmetic or body care brands. The spa has […]
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 […]
A Conversation with Robert Nadler, CEO of Nadler Hotels Robert Nadler, CEO of Nadler Hotels, founded his hotels using inspiration from his personal experience as a hotel client. I met Robert a few days before the opening of one of his latest hotels. Openings are a very special and intense moment for the owner. I had […]
The Opening of a Hotel: The Verdict At the moment of a hotel’s opening, everything is at its most beautiful and marvelous. The hotel invites the press to spoil them and sends its PR team to show around everything there is to be seen. So it’s an interesting exercise to return to the hotel a […]
The World of Hotels: A Conversation with Robert Nadler, CEO of Nadler Hotels I’d like to share with you a very interesting conversation I had with an English entrepreneur who was raised in France and who’s created a hotel group in the United Kingdom after several years in the business world, where he had ample […]
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: 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. […]
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 […]
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? […]
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 […]
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 […]
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, […]
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 […]
The Masterworks of Vincent Beaurin It always makes it more interesting to bring meaning to the decoration of a hotel. This presents a wonderful space to give free rein to the expression of an artist, whose works might allow clients to escape, create an imaginary universe, and offer sources of inspiration. Whether it’s for a […]
Patrick Charvet, the previous Chef of the Hyatt Paris Madeleine, Patrick Charvet, shares his definition of the French art of welcoming I have been lucky to meet some passionate people, and I am going to share with you a very lovely meeting. I present to you Patrick Charvet, he was the head chef of the […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 French art of welcoming is a way of conceptualizing spaces for reception. How have you reinterpreted this art? To us, the French art of welcoming involves the feeling of truly being at home, of feeling good in a space so that we can create a certain energy. The space has to be very comfortable, […]
Meet Séverine Pétilaire-Bellet, General Manager of the LOV Hotel Group Collection. This luxury hotel chain boasts the following establishments to its name: Les Airelles, Chalet Ormello, Aman Le Mélézin, and Le Chalet de Pierres in Courchevel, La Bastide de Gordes in Gordes and Pan Deï in Saint-Tropez. I encourage you to learn more about this […]
