You've just opened your fourth CitizenM in Paris, this one overlooking part of the Champs-Elysées. How did this project come about?
Robin Chadha - Its development was quite a challenge, since it involved transforming an old office block into two buildings. At first, we weren't quite sure how we were going to go about it. But, when you see the result, it's a very nice hotelWith beautiful outdoor spaces, including a café and patio on the first floor and a rooftop on the top floor. As in all the other Citizen M hotels, travellers will find the same facilities, the same technology and a single room type. With 151 keys, it's a small hotel for us, whereas we're used to having establishments with 200 to 300 rooms.
Is this location a sign that you are now focusing more on leisure than business customers?
R. C. - Our main target remains still business travellers who are looking for hotels that are well placed for them and easily accessible, such as those we already offer at CDG airport, at La Défense and Gare de Lyon station. And that's the case with this one too. But being on the Champs-Elysées is a special situation for us, because we can also rely on our leisure customers at the weekend.
The pandemic has accelerated the deployment of technological solutions, which was already a priority at CitizenM.
R. C. - In fact, we were the first to launch a contactless 100% appwhich we have accelerated with the pandemic. It can be used to check in and check out, as well as to check in and check out.open the room and control its atmosphere, as well as consulting the menus and paying for purchases within the establishment. We've also added a description of the artworks installed in the hotel lobbies and a practical guide to the city, with our recommended addresses.
How did you get through this long and troubled period?
R. C. - We haven't closed any of our hotels, because that wouldn't have made sense. We're quite efficient operationally, so we wouldn't really have saved any money by keeping the door closed. We also wanted to keep our staff active. In addition to this, we opened several hotels during the pandemic, notably in Seattle, in Geneva, à Washington DC and so, now in Paris and at the same time in Los Angeles. However, this period has also given us the opportunity to review our strategy and define a new five-year business plan. Covid was a difficult period, but it enabled us to refocus and come out of it stronger in the end. All crises have their advantages. When we opened our first hotel in Amsterdam, it was in 2008, at the height of the financial crisis. And we survived!
What are the first results of this new strategy?
R. C. - We launched a number of new products, including the Global Passport which allows you to stay at any CitizenM, for a few days here and a few days there, for 1,500 euros a month, or 50 euros a day. We've already sold over 200 of them, including to someone who used to live in Zurich and work in Geneva. As a result, he gave up his flat and since then has been sharing his life between the hotels we have in these two cities. For these mobile professionals, we have also combined this offer with services in partnership with local players, in particular for dry cleaning and meal delivery from a selection of the best sushi and pizza restaurants, and so on. Today, based on this initial idea, we're thinking about other things, such as subscription packages for individual travellers, and corporate accounts.
Who would these subscriptions be for?
R. C. - Just as you have subscriptions for Netflix or Spotify, why wouldn't you have a subscription for hotels? Let's take a traveller who travels once a week, sometimes in New York, sometimes in Paris or LondonWe're thinking of offering this type of package. It could also be suitable for all those who, with the pandemic, have left the big cities in search of more space, but have to return frequently to work in the city. In the same way, a company based in Paris with strong links with the United States could, for example, take 50 rooms in Los Angeles and 100 nights in New York, paid monthly. We're currently in a test phase. We're waiting to see how habits evolve over the coming months, and how business travel picks up again. But that's one of the main areas we're looking at today.
Just as you have subscriptions for Netflix or Spotify, why wouldn't you have a subscription for hotels?
When it comes to new ways of working, are you going to start coworking like others?
R. C. - Not really. Our shared spaces are already ideal for mobile working. You have large tables equipped with sockets, good wifi and a printer at your disposal. Just before the pandemic, we even launched a coworking pass, by the day or by the week, to distinguish mobile professionals from hotel guests. It was starting to take off, but covid put a stop to it. In the same vein, when our first hotels were launched, people often came to stay and work, and then started asking us to reserve a table for them. hold a meeting. This gave us the idea of creating dedicated spaces, Society M. The first hotel to offer meeting rooms was the one in Glasgow, which opened in 2010. Since then, we've been adding them where we have the space. This is not the case at the Champs-Elysées, but half of our new hotels will offer them, for example.
What are the new CitizenM hotel projects?
R. C. - We will be opening 20 hotels, including 14 in the United States and 6 in Europe. In Europe, we are still waiting for two hotels in ParisThe first will be near the Opéra, in 2023, and another is planned near Porte Maillot. In London, where we already have two more, one near Victoria Station and the other as part of the the renovation of the Olympia conference centre. Finally, we will also be entering two new markets In Rome at the end of 2022, on Tiberina Island, then in Dublin in 2023, near Saint Patrick's Cathedral. In other words, both business and leisure locations, as in Paris.
As you said, you also have a number of projects in the United States. What explains CitizenM's success on the other side of the Atlantic?
R. C. - The reception of our brand there is very interesting, particularly in terms of our small rooms. In New York, where our first hotel opened, travellers are used to having rooms like ours. But we were worried about how this product would be appreciated in Boston or Washington? Very well, the proof is in the pudding. All in all, it shows thata CitizenM hotel is much more than just a room. It's a lively lobby, a bar, art, art, welcoming staff and outdoor spaces. We love outdoor spaces, so we try to create as many as we can. But we're also going to offer swimming pools and gyms in Miami, because that's a need there.
Which US cities are on your list for future openings?
R. C. - So we have three projects in Miami. Closer to home, we are opening a hotel in San Francisco in November, in the Union Square district, while another is expected in the city in the more distant future. Similarly, in Los Angeles we will be adding a hotel in Hollywood to the one in Downtown. Next year, A second CitizenM In the United States, we are building a hotel in Seattle, near Pioneer Square, as well as in Washington, in the NoMa district, and in Boston, with a hotel of more than 400 rooms, which will be the largest hotel in our group. Still in the United States, we are also building a hotel in Chicago, and we have also found a site in Austin, Texas. Finally, we have a very attractive project in Menlo Park. Facebook wanted a hotel on its campus and we were chosen from among the twenty or so hoteliers who applied.
On the other hand, unlike North America, the Citizen M graft seems not to have really taken hold in Asia?
R. C. - We had a joint venture with the Artizen group, but we ended it because our interests were not 100 % aligned. In the end, we will be keeping just one hotel in Asiathe one opened in Taipei. But we have stopped using our brand name on the one in Shanghai. As for CitizenM Kuala Lumpur, it is temporarily closed because the owner is having problems. Asia is a difficult market, with crazy property prices, particularly in Hong Kong and Tokyo. Which doesn't suit our business model. So we're going to continue to look at opportunities that may arise in this market, and in Australia too, but in a less active way. It's not our priority, like the United States and Europe.
In a way, CitizenM set the trend for affordable luxury. Looking back, how do you see the brand evolving?
R. C. - Indeed, we were pioneers. I'd say we've gone from infancy to adolescence. If you look at our first hotel, which opened in Amsterdam Schiphol in 2008, and the latest one, which opened in Paris, you can see the difference. We've improved our services, added outdoor spaces. The arty collaborations have also expanded, standing has risen. Today, our main focus is on technology, with a large team dedicated to customer experience and digital. Affordable luxury has become a question of emotional connection with the brand.
We don't have a loyalty programme, because ours is basically our app.
What role does technology play in this emotional connection?
R. C. - Let me give you an example: we don't have a loyalty programme, because ours is basically a loyalty programme, it's our app. For example, travellers can receive badges for each hotel they visit. As part of our city guides, we're going to enhance the benefits offered to our customers with discounts in restaurants, shops and sports halls. With business trips likely to be less frequent but longer, we may add other services such as dry cleaning or luggage delivery in advance. We're always looking to surprise our customers. That's what's interesting about building a brand. You can't just sit back and wait.
Other lifestyle brands such as Mama Shelter and 25Hours have become part of a large group, in this case Accor. Can you afford to remain independent?
R. C. - Absolutely. Admittedly, what we do is capital intensive, because we almost always own our establishments. But we have powerful shareholdersLike the Dutch pension fund APG and the Singapore sovereign wealth fund GIC, to which we sold 25 % of our capital a few years ago. In my opinion, it's difficult to retain the soul of a brand in the same way in a large group. I know how they work. They go to the owners and offer them management contracts by deploying their brand catalogue. What do you want, a Mama Shelter or a 25 Hours? In the end, we can see that the founders of 25 Hours launched the Bikini resort chain in Majorca, and one of the designers of Mama Shelter is behind it. MOB hotels. They are entrepreneurs who want to control their own destiny. That's what we want too.
