Updated on 8 March 2022.
How has your business evolved in recent months?
Xavier Desaulles - It is still very volatile, with a rollercoaster ride over the last 18 months, a number of sites closed at the start of last year, reduced activity before picking up again in the summer and a final quarter almost on a par with 2019. Which was very encouraging. But the fifth wave caused a lot of cancellations, especially in the Paris region where we have around forty Adagio aparthotels. However, we are seeing some positive signs, both from the February holidays and from the corporate clientele who are taking on new assignments from spring onwards. Even if the start of the year has been complicated, I'm confident that we'll be able to achieve our objectives. a rebound from March. Our longer-term assumption is that business will return to normal by the end of the year or early in 2023.
The health crisis has highlighted the resilience of the long-stay hotel industry. How do you explain this?
X. D. - We are already lucky to have a good balance between leisure and business customers. As far as business customers are concerned, the fact that we have managed to attract less disturbed sectors by keeping the country under wraps has helped us. For example, construction and public works companies or IT services companies working on major projects that require their employees to be present on their customer's site. This cushion of reserve" business customers has enabled us to hold up better than the rest of the industry. We also provided social accommodation in partnership with charities and prefectures to welcome vulnerable people into our homes. All in all, we outperformed our competitive set by between 7% and 8%.
With the recovery just around the corner, how do you see the future?
X. D. - There are two aspects to the future, starting with the extension of our network. The development dimension is very present in our plansfirstly for expand our network in France and abroad. There is a real desire to expand our network beyond the 13 countries where we are present. We will be adding several more, including Qatar in the first quarter of 2022 and Malta in the second, among the seven openings planned for this year, Kiel and Hamburg in Germany, Ghent in Belgium, and Glasgow and Rome in the second half of the year. The other thing is to be bold, with innovative products and services.
In this context, Adagio had announced a coliving project. Where are we now?
X. D. - This concept is being finalised at the Adagio Paris Bercy. We will soon be unveiling our show flat, comprising four studios arranged around a common multi-use areaA place where business groups or friends can meet, work and dine together. Tested at Bercy at the beginning of the year, this idea will then be extended this summer to our Brussels Grand Place residence. From there, we'll see how this product takes off, but we have a lot of faith in it, particularly as it meets the needs of companies that want to mobilise their teams around projects.
In November, you also launched a commuters offer, aimed at teleworkers who have moved to the provinces. Has it been a success?
X. D. - We don't have much experience of this yet, as the fifth wave arrived in the wake of the first. But it also meets a real need, that of all those employees who wanted to change their livesWhile they have decided to improve their quality of life, they are also sensitive to price. If they have decided to improve their quality of life, they are also sensitive to price. This offer is designed to offer a volume of stays at attractive prices to people who have a clear view of their diary. We offer them not only prices, but also a left-luggage service and the possibility, if available, of taking back the room occupied the last time, to create that "like home away from home" feeling. The offer is well thought out. We'll see in a few months how it takes off.
More broadly, how is the spread of teleworking affecting your offering?
X. D. - The fundamental trend towards working remotely has obviously have an impact on us, as hosting providers. As a result, we've already invested in how to better integrate the office into the flat, as we were able to demonstrate in our new show flat in Bercy. In the flat, the kitchen, bedroom and office areas are well separated without being too compartmentalised, all within a 25m2 space. The flat has been designed with this in mind, for commuters and other travellers who would like to extend their stay by working remotely for a day. But to do that, you first need to be well set up, which is why there's a desk in the flat and quiet areas in the communal areas, with quality WiFi.
Could this "workplace" dimension be further strengthened?
X. D. - Meeting this need is one of Adagio's investment priorities. In our CirclesThere is already a space set aside for this. Business customers can spend the morning or afternoon there and work in peace and quiet, or hold a meeting or make a presentation. In addition, as we are partners of Wojo, their expertise in coworking is opening up new perspectives. Their feedback may be of interest for the design of these workspaces within common areas. The mobility inherent in new forms of working will create opportunities for the accommodation industry.
Business and leisure customers: the appeal of our residences is broad-based.
X. D. - In fact, and this stimulates us, it encourages us to be daring in the pricing packages we offer. It forces us to be granular about our customers' needs. We can no longer think in terms of standard productss, with the same studio or two-bedroom apartment for everyone. We need to have a coherent brand promise, while trying to modulate the spaces, to define offers according to identified targets, be they commuters, senior citizens, couples, city breakers, etc. Without diluting things too much, we need to be more and more personalised. Without diluting ourselves too much, we need to be increasingly personalised.
