The metamorphosis of a major business hotel in the heart of a district that is itself in the process of being completely transformed: the transformation of the Pullman Montparnassebegun in late summer 2017 and nearing completion, is part of a vast urban project led by Unibail-Rodamco. A legacy from the 1970s, the Gaîté block The Montparnasse district is undergoing a major transformation, with the emergence of a new upmarket shopping centre and a Wojo coworking space, as well as a facelift for Montparnasse station and the tower of the same name.
Scheduled to reopen at the beginning of September, Covid-19 is likely to push back the opening date by a few weeks. " We suffered a delay insofar as the work has been halted for some time and we need to ensure that it is resumed while protecting the health of all the workers on this vast siteexplains Jérome Cherpin, General Manager of the hotel. Between now and the end of May, we will be able to set a new opening date, which we hope will be as close as possible to the planned date. "
With its 957 renovated rooms, the hotel will once again be one of the biggest names in the Paris hotel industry. "This is a major event for the brand, which intends to make this new flagship a benchmark hotelsays the general manager of Pullman Montparnasse. But it's also an event for businesses, who will find Paris a place to hold high-end meetings with a large capacity, whereas luxury hotels only have a limited number of rooms."
Apart from the same number of rooms, the hotel will have a completely new look. Behind its glass façade, the lobby will be two storeys high, with reception desks for groups on the ground floor, while the upper lobby will be dedicated to individual guests. The hotel will have two restaurants, including a top-of-the-range Italian restaurant, but above all a "Bistro", a "Bistro" and a "Bistro". sublime roof-top bar on the 32nd and top floor, with 70 indoor and outdoor seats. It's open to the public, but also available in the mornings for business breakfasts with a view.
Because the Pullman Montparnasse is first and foremost a great, great huge business hotel with three floors and 5,000 m² dedicated to meetings and events, almost entirely in daylight. In addition to 15 rooms ranging from 30 to 100 m² with a "board meeting" feel, the hotel will offer a number of large spaces, starting with a "meeting room". 740 m² plenary hallWith no pillars and a ceiling height of 7 m, for conventions and large-scale events.
It is complemented by five modular rooms that can accommodate between 20 and 50 people, as well as a 700 m² terrace planted with trees for cocktail parties. 19 rooms that can be converted into conference rooms will also be added to the meeting facilities, with the hotel also marketing 15 of Wojo's 20 meeting rooms scheduled to open in 2021.
With a large number of corporate events expected to take place as soon as the hotel reopened, the hotel management had to plan for plans B with its customers. " Everything went really wellsays Jérôme Cherpin. We gave them the choice of either cancelling, given the uncertainties, or postponing their event for those who wanted to come and discover the transformed hotel."Another solution for those who needed it: transferring their events to another Accor group hotel.
" Pending government decisions, demonstrations are still planned end of August in Pullman hotels in Parisexplains Jérôme Cherpin. Sectors less affected by the crisis still need to get together. Some companies have high stakes in product launches, others in business continuity. We're trying to be as flexible as possible in terms of conditions to support the business recovery and avoid putting our customers under further stress. "On a positive note for the future, even the end of 2020 is still on the dotted line, but 2021 is looking brighter according to Jérôme Cherpin: " We continue to receive regular requests for next yearparticularly internationally. "
