The business hotel of tomorrow?
Frédéric Fontaine - It will no longer be just a functional hotelbut a a place based on emotion and surprise. It will take the form of a 'game', with a notion of appropriation, of flexibility. For a long time, the hotel industry has had a standardised brand approachand can be reproduced in large numbers. This has ensured our success. Today, we need to reinventBusiness and leisure travellers alike want something different. That's why at Accorwe've added a number of brands that revolve around the lifestyle like Mama Shelter, 25Hours or Jo&Joe, a creation of the Labbecause we need a differentiated portfolio and adapts to every need.
The lobby, a new living space?
Frédéric Fontaine - One thing's for sure, this has forced us to rethink our model, telling ourselves that we need to be more proactive. attractivemore lifestylemore authentic, moving from the functional to the emotional. This change has already begun in many of our brands, whether in the luxury, midscale or economy segments. For example, at Ibis, we have redesigned our reception area to make it more human, using a tablet, and we have done away with the counters, which were a real barrier. We spent a lot of time working on our rooms, which is normal for a hotel group. Now we're working on everything else.
we are now thinking of creating a product entirely dedicated to well-being, aimed at both individual travellers and groups.
Coworking and hotels: a win-win partnership?
Frédéric Fontaine - Le coworking is a strong trend in the evolution of ways of working. And it's not dissimilar to the way hotels are used by the many business travellers we welcome. However, if they don't have a room key, many people are still reluctant to walk through the hotel door. Our idea, by partnering with Wojo (Editor's note: a coworking business co-owned by Accor and Bouygues Immobilier), is to show this nomadic clientele that they are welcome here. We have created two offers: Wojo spot, with workspaces in our public areas, and Wojo corner with areas specially dedicated to work, but with the possibility of using the hotel services, the restaurant, the meeting rooms, the fitness centre and the terraces in fine weather. As for going further, we're thinking about putting even more coworking facilities in our hotels and, why not? offer accommodation in certain Wojo.
Ever more well-being?
Frédéric Fontaine - Le well-being is clearly a hot topic. Running, yoga and meditation are all part of our customers' daily lives. A number of studies and interviews with business travellers have revealed the following message: "I've got into a routine around eating better and sleeping better, I do sport or yoga, but the business trips break the routine. I have less control over my time, I dine out, I drink more than I should and when I come back, I've far exceeded my personal objectives.." For us hoteliers, the issue is to ensure that this is no longer the case. We are thinking about how to make a wider range of wellness products in our establishments. In fact, it's so important that we're now thinking of creating a product entirely dedicated to well-being, aimed at both individual travellers and groups.
