What does Eurostar's new MICE offer look like?
Guillemette Jacob - We are offering companies the opportunity to privatise an entire car, or even several cars and an entire Eurostar train. This new service will be available in our three service classes: Standard, Standard Premier and Business Premier. For these last two classes, it is possible to ask for on-board entertainment in addition to the privatisation of the car. The aim is to bring the destination to life right from the start of the journey.
What kind of events are you thinking of?
G. J. - For example, it will be possible to organise a wine tasting from London, while learning how to read a wine list in France. Conversely, from Paris, companies will be able to organise a gin tasting with an expert, a former gin brewer. There's also a perfume expert from Fragonard who will come and explain this field and refine the noses of our travellers. We're going to start with a panel of ten events, on ten themes. Depending on constraints and demand, we may be able to extend this range of choices.
What is the launch schedule?
G. J. - The offer is ready, and we are in the process of finalising the marketing aspects. But we've already been able to test the product on the UK market, where we've had excellent feedback. In France, it's a matter of weeks.
Will this offer be available on all Eurostar trains?
G. J. - Yes, with no restrictions other than the inventory. We can even imagine privatising an entire train, whether it's a train that's already scheduled, with a lot of anticipation, or even by adding a train if necessary. That still represents a capacity of 800 to 850 people!
How does the pricing work?
Guillemette Jacob - There is an extra charge for the entertainment, which is logical, but there is no extra charge for privatising the car. The only constraint is that you have to buy all the seats in the car, bearing in mind that the group rate applies. Privatisation can be taken a step further, with headrests and cushions in the brand's colours, to ensure a personalised welcome in the carriage itself.
How long does it take to organise such an operation?
G. J. - It is possible to book as early as six months before the trip, and we recommend booking two or three months in advance to have the inventory available.
What size group are you targeting?
G. J. - Our cars can seat 80 people in Standard class, or around thirty passengers in Business Premier or Standard Premier. So we cater for different group sizes, there's not really a very specific core target. It's a fairly flexible offer, which can be of interest to different types of customer: a large group, or just fifteen or so staff going to an important meeting, who can start the meeting at Paris Nord or Saint Pancras.
Will this service be extended to stations?
Guillemette Jacob - There are no plans for this at the moment. We may look into it at a later date. We're already going to look at how the service is going to be received, and the initial feedback from passengers, before considering such developments.
This is Eurostar's first step into the MICE market...
G. J. - Officially, yes, even though we already had in-house teams working to develop this audience, and who were also responsible for developing this new offering. It's undeniably an extremely interesting audience for us. All our destinations, with the possible exception of Bourg-Saint-Maurice, are major MICE destinations.
At a time when we are talking aboutfitting out aircraft holds to set up meeting rooms, should we expect meeting cars at Eurostar?
G. J. - It's very complicated, and would be a real logistical nightmare...
