After several years at Adagio, and previously at Corsair, you took the helm at Odalys City last October. What are your priorities?
Stéphane Bartaire – We have five major ambitions. The first is to proudly proclaim who we are and clarify the positioning of Odalys City, an urban aparthotel brand. The second priority is to instil change and modernity by undertaking a voluntary transformation of the brand through the modernisation of its codes, practices, and image. The third is to reinvent the customer experience: every touchpoint in the customer journey (before/during/after) must strengthen preference for Odalys City. A fourth, highly significant ambition: to evolve our management, tools, and processes with more effective tools and processes, suited to the challenges and stakes of the aparthotel sector, which will serve performance and profitability. Finally, the last ambition: the necessity to restart development for City by increasing the number of locations on the map.
Within this context, the question arises about the name Odalys, historically associated with holidays and leisure. Is this a hindrance to the recognition of your urban offering?
S. B. - This is a real question. Our decision is to keep the Odalys name, as rebranding represents a genuine risk of losing recognition, in addition to a considerable investment. Odalys City now has its own legitimacy and recognised expertise, which must be proclaimed loud and clear. From this point, the work involves better identifying our urban dimension within our brand ecosystem. Magora, a leader in managed real estate in Europe, has a complete range of products, from tourist residences under the Odalys Vacances brand, to aparthotels with Odalys City, to student residences (Odalys Campus) or senior residences (Happy Senior), and even outdoor hotels with the Flower brand. The idea is indeed to give each brand its own visibility.
What are the next steps?
S. B. - The aim is to move from a network logic to a brand logic. The starting observation is simple: the segmentation of our offering is not clear to our customers. We have two ranges, Cosy and Signature. However, these are largely distinctions known internally, with no clear translation into the customer experience. My objective is to give each of these ranges a strong identity, a differentiated pricing strategy, and specific services. I hope to finalise this work by the end of the year, to roll out the new segmentation in 2026 and 2027.
The visual identity revamp project is nearing completion, with its unveiling scheduled for autumn. Furthermore, we have also launched an eighteen-month digital overhaul project, introducing new tools for operational management within our aparthotels, revenue management, and property distribution. As part of this digital transformation, we will also create a website, with a dedicated corporate section in the medium term. Until now, Odalys City has not had its own website. To find us, a visitor must go through the Odalys Vacances website, a commercialisation platform that lists hundreds of properties not belonging to our brand. This situation, let's be frank, is far from ideal.
Will this repositioning also be reflected in your establishments?
S. B. - This evolution will necessarily be accompanied by a significant evolution of the customer experience in our establishments and a renovation programme: six of our establishments have already been refurbished, and the aim is to cover half of our properties in the next four to five years. With work focusing on both the apartments and the common areas, to transform them into genuine living spaces, in line with current expectations.
What does Odalys's offer cover today?
S. B. - We operate 32 establishments, split fairly evenly between 3-star and 4-star ratings. These are aparthotels averaging 92 rooms, with the extremes being Odalys City Centre Euromed in Marseille, with its 250 rooms, and Odalys City Nice Palais Rossini, with only 25 units. Geographically, we have good coverage in major regional cities, whether that be Toulouse, Lyon, Aix-Marseille, Montpellier, or Alsace-Lorraine. However, three areas remain under-represented: Bordeaux, Lille, and the Île-de-France region, where we only have two establishments in Paris, one in Levallois, and one in Rueil. This lack of network coverage in Île-de-France represents a real commercial obstacle to securing major national accounts.
In your development strategy, how do you plan to address the identified geographical gaps?
S. B. - Across several avenues. The first is the continuation of leasehold projects on new builds. In this context, three openings have been signed for 2028 and 2029, in Nice, Grenoble and Dijon. In parallel, we must diversify our development methods. Until now, Odalys City relied exclusively on rentals, and we are now opening up to management mandates, which will allow us to be more reactive to market opportunities. Franchising is also being considered, but this requires first having well-structured our brand and its standards. In parallel, we are also looking at opportunities to convert hotels into aparthotels or to take over existing aparthotels. And this, in addition to an unusual project in Marseille.
Could you tell us about it?
S. B. - The Magora group is set to venture into traditional hotel operations. This includes a 130-room, four-star DoubleTree by Hilton hotel and its panoramic restaurant, which will be managed by Magora's teams. This new establishment is scheduled to open in mid-2028 – fingers crossed! – near our aparthotel. We are thus becoming a Hilton franchisee as part of this project! This initiative showcases our expertise in hotel management. Currently, this is our only project in this sector, but it represents a door that is beginning to open for us.
Let's now discuss corporate clients. Is this an important segment for Odalys City?
S. B. - Yes. And what surprised me upon arrival was seeing that 57% of our clientele was made up of business travellers, compared to 43% leisure clients. This is a higher rate than I had seen elsewhere. In the corporate segment, this clientele is two-thirds domestic and one-third international. This profile is explained by our very open positioning: we welcome everyone from sole traders to VSEs/SMEs and large accounts such as CMA CGM, Airbus, Siemens, and BNP Paribas, to name but a few examples. We also work closely with the convention bureaus in each location, which generates significant business, particularly in Nîmes and Montpellier.
How does your distribution model work? Here too, you seem to differ.
S. B. - This is indeed a specific trait inherited from the brand's history: over 90 % of our corporate bookings are made directly, either via the establishments themselves or through our sales representatives. The share of intermediary channels – travel agencies, booking platforms – is much lower than elsewhere. This is an advantage in terms of margin, but it should also evolve to align with market trends, particularly regarding digital visibility. This is precisely one of the transformations we have undertaken.
You mention a growth of 6 % in the corporate segment in 2025. What are the drivers behind this?
S. B. - I would like to point out that this performance predates my arrival, and therefore I cannot take credit for it. That said, I see two explanations for it. Firstly, the commercial responsiveness of our pre-sales teams, both at the branch level and within the national sales force. They respond to requests within half a day. This is a considerable and much-appreciated competitive advantage. The second factor is our acceptance of all lengths of stay, with no restrictions on short stays. Commercial efficiency and operational efficiency in the service of our customers' satisfaction.
However, you remain focused on medium and long stays.
S. B. - Controlling lengths of stay is key to the model's profitability. The rule is simple: one night loses money; two nights break even; and three nights onwards become profitable. Players who tried to force growth through short stays encountered difficulties. The best-in-class in the sector, however, rigorously maintain their focus on medium and long stays, which reduces costs and generates higher operating profitability than traditional hotels. This is the model I am endeavouring to embed at Odalys City: welcoming all segments of stay duration, but ensuring that the centre of gravity remains firmly on medium stays.
