Has the pandemic put the brakes on your ambitions?
Françoise Houdebine - We haven't fallen asleep during the crisis, far from it. In fact, we've taken advantage of the crisis to introduce a number of concepts which we hope will be of benefit to our customers. winners in the future. This spirit of innovation is inspired by a body, the Global Innovation Center, opened with our shareholder Jin Jiang International, which has one foot in Shanghai and the other in Paris. Here, China and France work together to come up with new ideas and launch new services, propose technological innovations like the first Campanile with the 'Smart Inside' label, which opened in Shanghai in 2016. It was our duty to export this concept to Europe, with our first 'Smart Inside' establishment opening in Lyon a few months ago.
How does this technology-first concept work?
F. H. - Technology is present at every stage of the customer journey, making the experience more fluid. At Campanile Smart Lyon Est, for example, there are charging points for electric cars and kiosks in the lobby for checking in and out. Customers are also invited to scan a QR code to board the hotel. a web app on your smartphone. An application that gives access to a multitude of services such as calling the lift, controlling the smart TV, controlling the intensity of the light or heating in the room, or even asking a robot to come and deliver extra bath towels.
In the middle of the last decade, robots began to appear in hotels, but the wind seems to have died down since then. What is the real benefit of this innovation?
F. H. - Let's face it, it's a gimmick, but it's used. The robot is fun, but it also provides services. And, above all, it's the best ambassador for Smart technologies within the establishment. Seeing him walk through the lobby, guests immediately understand that this is not a traditional hotel, and this encourages them to discover the other innovations and install the web app on their phone.
How have customers at Campanile Smart in Lyon responded to this concept, and will it be rolled out outside Lyon?
F. H. - Since it opened a few months ago, customer feedback has been very positive, with a satisfaction score of 4.6 out of 5. Given the success of this concept, we intend to use this technology in future projects for Campanile, as well as for our other brands. Why not a Première Classe Smart, a Kyriad Smart or a Golden Tulip Smart? In major cities, where there is often a plethora of hotels on offer, being labelled "Smart Inside" allows establishments to stand out from the crowd. When a customer does a search in a reservation system, seeing the smart label makes them wonder. It's a way for our hoteliers to stand out both in their distribution and in the experience they offer guests.
We had done a lot of work on the common areas of the Campanile hotels. We also had to rethink the customer experience in terms of accommodation, with a real move upmarket.
However, this technological aspect is not the only innovation at Campanile?
F. H. - In 2021, we also unveiled the new Campanile room. We had worked hard on the common areas of establishments in recent years. As a result, we also had to rethink the customer experience when it came to accommodation, with a real move upmarket. By offering 80% of top-of-the-range comfort for 20% of its price, Campanile intends to reinvent the standards of mid-range hotels with a premium design. Customers benefit from a real bubble of decompression, with the room separated into four distinct areas. The entrance is not via a corridor, as is often the case, but via a dressing area and the bathroom. The sleeping area is separated from the bathroom by a sliding door, so is completely isolated from the noise coming from the corridor. A lounge and work area complete the bedroom layout. New Campaniles will be equipped with this new room, which will also be incorporated into future renovation projects.
In developing its offer, the Campanile brand has not confined itself to the latest technologies or the atmosphere of the room. It has also turned to sport with its Fit Up concept. What motivated you to move into this area?
F. H. - We wanted to democratising access to sport in mid-range hotels, a segment where this type of experience is not traditionally offered. The Fit Up concept is a fully-fledged gym right in the room, which guests can use whenever they like, in complete privacy. This is another example of the interaction enabled by our innovation centre, since it first appeared in China, in partnership with Décathlon China, before being rolled out in France. The partnership with a leading brand such as Décathlon Pro guarantees access to quality equipment - mats, dumbbells, straps, weighted balls, etc. - to equip the Fit Wall. In addition eight coaching videos tailor-made by the experts at the TrainMe coaching application. For our hotels, it's a new way of standing out from the crowd. We've seen with this crisis just how important sport is for a healthy lifestyle. The Fit Up label could also work very well in other brands such as Kyriad, or even in Golden Tulip hotels that don't have gyms.
Among the other initiatives of Louvre Hotels Group, your group has also opened up to residential accommodation with the Tulip Residences brand. Is this move linked to the expected growth in long stays?
F. H. - We're taking advantage of the upheaval in behaviour linked to the crisis in covid. To limit the carbon footprint, both business and leisure trips will be optimised, and will undoubtedly be longer. The launch of Tulip Residences in Joinville-le-Pont and Warsaw comes at just the right time, but we had already started work on this project two years ago, spurred on by demand from our network. With this a new brand combining studios and flatsWith services such as a café, fitness room, laundry and coworking spaces, we are meeting the expectations of both customers and investors in our establishments. And it's also the occasion for another Global Innovation Center event: when we presented this concept to our Chinese counterparts, they thought it was brilliant and this product is going to be launched there under the name of Tulip Lodge.
Do you already have other innovation projects underway?
F. H. - Other concepts are still incubating, but we can already mention Hosho, whose recently opened just outside Paris. With this brand, we are moving into a new segment, that of convenience hotelsThe new concept is to sell by the bed rather than by the room, in rooms of 4 or 8 beds. It's very cheap accommodation - €20 a bed - but high quality, with a design bias that's both practical and practical. For each of the beds, we recreate a mini room, a little like a bedroom. in the style of first-class cabins. Everything is within easy reach, with hangers and shelves, a reading light and sockets for recharging your phone built into the headboard. Everything is extremely ergonomic.
For this Hosho brand, you seem to have been inspired more by Japanese-style capsule hotels than the new-generation youth hostels that are springing up here and there. Why this orientation?
F. H. - We could have played the lifestyle card, with a bar and music until 4am. On the contrary, we focused on calm and safety. In the living areas, travellers can work or have breakfast in complete tranquillity. In the Laundry Bar, they can wash their clothes and have a snack while they dry off. Everything is designed to be practical. With Hosho, we're targeting a number of customer groups, including corporate clients, budget-conscious workers, tribes - whether blended families, groups of friends or sports teams - and solo travellers, such as students coming for exams or backpackers. Launching this new type of hotel in the middle of the covid period, with rooms shared with people we don't know, was a challenge, but the hotel did very well this summer, and since the start of the school year, the results have been very encouraging.
