Barely open, already closed. A few months after its inauguration in June 2019, InterContinental Lyon - Hôtel-Dieu was forced to suspend its activities due to the pandemic. "We were travelling at 500mph and had to stop abruptly.says Madelijn Vervoord, the establishment's general manager. The evening we learned that the restaurants had to close, ours was fully booked and customers were queuing for the bar. The same goes for our convention centre, the Académie, which used to host 100 to 120 events a month, suddenly, nothing. "
The confinement gave the hotel teams the opportunity to consider new ways of welcoming business customers, which have been on offer since the reopening on 18 June. " We have rethought what we offer, and the arrangements in rooms with fewer people. Buffets have been replaced by very high-end individual meal trays, so that customers don't have to stand up and pass each other, explains the hotelier. It was necessary find other solutions. "
For example, the five-star hotel has created a Studio offer, making its presidential suite available for small meetings of up to ten participants. With, as a bonus, all the technology needed to add a virtual element to the event. " The presidential suite is not usually accessible for groups and, recently, it was used for a major contract signing with ten people around the table. 60 participants by videoconferenceThe same goes for a management dinner preceded by an aperitif.says Madelijn Vervoord. Its lounge is magnificent, with its eight metre high ceilings and two balconies overlooking the Soufflot dome. For a CODIR, it's a great alternative to the rooms in our Academy centre. "
For this type of event, the InterContinental Lyon also offers an Executive Committee offerIt features cutting-edge technologies such as videoconferencing, streaming and a digital whiteboard. " The Salle l'Apothicaire is perfectly equipped for this type of group.explains the hotel manager. It's a departure from the classic layout, with a large table and sofas and armchairs next to it for a relaxed feel. It's a big hit, and we've even done up a second room in the same way. "
At the same time, as the Club Lounge is currently closed in its original function as a VIP lounge, the hotel has opened it to the public. redesigned as a coworking space for corporate customers who, in addition to their room, can come and work there as part of the Business Travellers package, including one night's accommodation, an upgrade and access to the Club Lounge. At the same time, the hotel is offering local customers a Home Office solution, with access to a private workspace from €150/day or to a coworking space with a meeting room from €1,000/month, in addition to a 20 % discount on F&B services.
" We need being inventive in the current periodsays Madelijn Vervoord. We're pretty happy with the restart. We thought we wouldn't be doing anything this summer, but in July we received requests from local teams of 10-15 people who needed to get together after the confinement. But by the end of August/beginning of September we were receiving requests for nationwide events involving around a hundred people. And towards the end of the year, we're getting requests for meetings with over 100 participants, including some international participants. "
While the head of the establishment also supervises the InterContinental Marseille and Bordeaux is the same trend can be seen in all three hotels The demand is local or regional at the moment, national from September-October and international towards the end of the year. Another trend that is beginning to emerge to limit risks and travel is the emergence of rotating meetings. " We can see that some national companies no longer necessarily hold major events where they invite everyone, but hold several regional meetings to reach all the teams.says Madelijn Vervoord. We benefit from this with our hotels in three different regions. "These InterContinentals are united by the fact that they are flagship establishments in each of these destinations.
