The Oceania group has just made a grand entrance into Lille with the conversion of the former headquarters of the Scalbert-Dupont bank into a hotel. Is this a major moment for your group?
Rozenn Branellec Dumon - We are delighted to have planted a flag in Lille by transforming these former offices into a hotel with 88 rooms and suites. An establishment that will appeal to business travellers with its ideal situationIt also has two seminar rooms and two coworking lounges. But it will also appeal to leisure customers, with a vast wellness area, a bar and a top-of-the-range brasserie. A little background information, descendants of the Dupont family will have been its first customers. Following an interview given to the Voix du Nord Two years ago, a member of the family discovered that we had acquired the bank building and converted it into a hotel. One thing led to another, and we ended up organising the cousinade within its walls, bringing together the whole family over several generations. It was an extraordinary pre-opening weekend for them and for us, and a real thrill.
Tell us more about this transformation.
R. B. D. - It's a magnificent building, with its historic façade and the red bricks typical of the region. As it was in very good condition, we hardly touched it. Even before applying for planning permission, we worked hard to make it look as good as possible. in close collaboration with the town hallincluding the person in charge of remarkable heritage who supported us throughout the project. For the municipality, it was essential that we respected the building, its monumental windows - These include the bottle-bottom window overlooking the bar, the marble staircase with its Art Deco handrail, the large windows and the exterior ironwork that give the building its elegance. All these architectural features have been not only preserved, but magnified.
Right down to the vault, which has been transformed into a swimming pool!
R. B. D. - We'd just bought the building, and on our first visit to this huge basement room, I said: "We've just bought the building. that's the place to do the pool" . Nobody believed me when I floated the idea, but we did it. We've kept the safes as they were, simply protected from dust and damp behind glass. It's a titanic project. If only to build the swimming pool, we had to bring in machinery from outside and dig into the foundations. Using these safes as a starting point was the common thread running through the entire decorating theme. Taking advantage of the huge arched window above the entrance doors, the Scalbert Dupont suite, comprising a bedroom, a large living room and two bathrooms, for example, offers a glimpse into the world of banking.
This opening also adds a new address for Oceania in a major French city. Can you tell us more about the development of your group, which was born in Brittany and now has around thirty hotels in France?
R. B. D. - Our father, François Branellec, founded this company, which will soon be celebrating its 50th anniversary. It's a Breton group, originally 100% pure butter, whose development initially took place in the region and has since expanded through developments and acquisitions. We would like to controlled growthWe don't want to take the plunge and have 50 or 100 hotels all at once. Oceania remains a family business, close to its employees, and our developments are made somewhat by feel. Location remains at the heart of our choices, but so does the history of the place. When you look at our latest establishments, the one in Lille and Le Conti in Brest, it shows our expertise in renovating buildings with character, our ability to adapt to changing circumstances and our ability to adapt to the needs of our customers. ability to give back a soul to former offices or old hotels, weaving a story around a remarkable heritage.
What are the next openings to look forward to?
R. B. D. - After Lille, we will be opening a three-star Oceania in Lyon at the end of June, the result of the conversion of a former Median hotel. In Paris, another former Median establishment in the 17th arrondissement will be transformed into a three-star Oceania.e It will also be converted into a three-star Oceania. Work is due to start in a few weeks' time, with the opening scheduled for the end of 2026. To take things a step further, while there's still plenty to do in Paris, we'd also like to be present at the following events in other major French cities as in Bordeaux and Toulouse. At the same time, we are investing in our existing hotels, with major renovations planned for the Oceania Nantes Aéroport and Brest Centre.
Are your customers more business or leisure-oriented?
R. B. D. - We're really touching a multiple customers. Take our latest projects in Lille and Brest: as part of these renovations, we have integrated a wellness area with swimming pool, treatment room, massage, sauna, etc. This is part of the evolution of our establishments. This is part of the evolution of our establishments. With this type of service, as well as family rooms, hotels that are essentially business hotels can now be fully booked at weekends.
Do you have framework contracts with major companies?
R. B. D. - Yes, of course we do. We have a sales team in charge of contracts with French and international companieswho also travels to trade shows. Hotel managers and in-house sales staff also do their job locally. This is very important. The best sales person is above all the hotel manager.
Is MICE also an important segment for your Group?
R. B. D. - It depends on the hotel. In Brest, where we have three hotels today, Le Conti is positioned for both leisure and individual business customers, while the Oceania Brest Centre will be preferred for seminars because of its large meeting room capacity. The Oceania Paris Roissy CDG and Nantes Airport, as well as the Oceania L'Univers in Tours, the Métropole in Montpellier and one of our latest acquisitions, the Hôtel d'Anjou in Angers, also have excellent seminar facilities.
Some of your hotels have distinctive names, while others are simply called Oceania and mention their location. What are the differences between these establishments?
R. B. D. - Our umbrella brand is Oceania, under which we operate three- and four-star hotels. However, when we have buildings with character or emblematic hotels for the cityFor example, the Oceania Les Augustins in Lille, named after the former convent that was part of its foundations, or the Oceania Le Conti in Brest, from the former Continental hotel. For example, the Oceania Les Augustins in Lille, named after the former convent that was part of the hotel's foundations, or the Oceania Le Conti in Brest, named after the former Hotel Continental. Similarly in Nantes, the former Hôtel de France on Place Gralin has become the Oceania Hôtel de France.
You also have another brand, Nomad. How is it positioned in your portfolio?
R. B. D. - It's an integral part of the Oceania brand. What's more, we recently made a change: to book a Nomad hotel, you have to go through the Oceania website, which has better visibility. Which is perfectly normal: Nomad remains a young brandIn May 2024, we opened our third restaurant in Dijon, at the foot of the railway station. For the time being, our development priority remains the Oceania hotels. The Nomad concept, which focuses on eco-responsible hotels, is based on new construction. As a result, development times are longer and, as you know, this model is a little more complicated today.
However, this CSR-focused product is very much in tune with the times.
R. B. D. - When we launched the product, as we have a system that allows you to manage the air conditioning or the level of water in the shower, customers could originally pay less if they didn't want air conditioning, or benefit from a reduced price if they were staying several nights and didn't want the room to be cleaned. Today, this system has been simplified around a a holiday package called GreenStaywhich encompasses these eco-gestures and is simpler for hotels to manage and for customers to understand. It's really up to them whether or not they opt for this option, without being singled out. In any case, one thing is certain: everything is done at Nomad to make your stay eco-responsible.
