Does the recent announcement of a new Crest Collection hotel in Paris mark the start of expansion for this luxury brand?
Philippe Mettey - Ascott's aim is to revitalise this brand and expand it geographically. The Crest Collection encompassed the three establishments La Clef in Paris and Château Belmont in Toursbut it is now set to expandOther top-of-the-range establishments are expected to open in Singapore and other Asian cities. The transformation of the Citadines Saint Germain des Prés into a five-star hotel is part of this strategy. We really want to make it a flagship establishment on the Left Bank.
Let's take a look back at the past few months. As Ascott is an Asian group, did you miss this clientele?
Philippe Mettey - We made up for this absence with excellent business from the United States, the Middle East and South America. However, we saw a good recovery in part of the Asian market in the second half, particularly from Singapore and South Korea. More generally, after a first quarter of 2022 still marked by the covid, the recovery was very strong after April to end the year with an overall level of business higher than in 2019, and even much higher in our five-star establishments. The business segment has also recovered well, albeit with a time lag depending on the market. Paris and the UK, for example, picked up before Germany, before cities like Frankfurt caught up at the end of the year.
Last year also saw a real acceleration in your Group's development, notably with the acquisition of the Oakwood group.
Philippe Mettey - This buyback was undoubtedly the most important event for the Ascott Group in 2022. This acquisition adds 15,000 rooms to our portfolio. But as well as offering numerous residences in Asia, Oakwood also has several establishments in the United States. This increases our presence in North America opening up the American market. We are also considering the arrival of this top-of-the-range brand in Europe.
As far as Europe is concerned, what are the main openings expected in 2023?
Philippe Mettey - We will open two Citadines flagshipsCitadines Amsterdam Canal, the first in the heart of Amsterdam. The result of the conversion of a Mercure acquired last year, the establishment is currently undergoing a complete renovation, and the Citadines Amsterdam Canal will offer just over 80 rooms. The second major opening will take place in Vienna, with the Citadines Vienna Danube, a property with almost 200 rooms, the brand's second address in the Austrian capital after a 48-room property opened last year.
As for France, you're particularly looking forward to the arrival of the lyf brand in Paris in 2024. Is this brand, like The Crest Collection, also booming?
Philippe Mettey - Expected to take part in the Olympic Games, the Lyf Paris Gambetta will be the first lyf in Europe, a flagship establishment in line with the brand's development strategy. Launched some time ago, Lyf has now found its positioning with a mix of millennial-minded customers in the leisure and business segments. This is the case of the new flagship opened last year in Singapore, Lyf One North, located right next to the INSEAD and ESSEC campuses. This generates a significant proportion of customers, all of whom are business travellers and short-stay customers.
What else will your group be doing this year?
Philippe Mettey - We are launching a renovation programme for four of our European flagships, in order to reposition these high-volume establishments in their markets. The Citadines La Défense will complete its renovation in April. We will then begin the renovation of Citadines Les Halles in the first half of the year, while other transformations are also planned for Citadines London Holborn and Citadines Berlin.
What will be the main focus of these renovations?
Philippe Mettey - We're going to be doing a lot of work on the reorganisation of spaces, in a "flex office" ideaespecially in bedrooms. This is one of the post-covid effects. The long-stay customers who used to come to us used to spend 100% of their time in the office. Today, this is less true. They alternate between the office and teleworking. As customers are spending more time working in their homes than ever before, we're going to respond to these new expectations with flexible spaces.
As the number of short-stay guests at aparthotels increases, are your residences also moving in this direction?
Philippe Mettey - Many customers have discovered it during the period we've just been through, and we've managed to win them over. The hotel residence offers our customers the opportunity to recreate their own personal world, whether for short or long stays. Our Citadines Amsterdam will have a hybrid model to meet these different expectations, with a third of the rooms being traditional hotels, another third offering catering solutions and the final third with kitchenettes. We need to find the best balance.
How will the new Citadines brand image, "For the Love of Cities", come to life in your establishments?
Philippe Mettey - The new brand identity will obviously be integrated into these transformations, as will the programme activatedto support this positioning. The aim of this programme is to offer our customers a whole range of activities close to our residences. The local knowledge of our Citazen - as the members of our establishments are called - is important for short-stay customers.
Is the Discover ASR programme helping to retain this customer base?
Philippe Mettey - This programme is very popular with customers, as we have now reached 2.5 million members. Discover ASR is another important point for Ascott. The main quality of this programme is that it is totally flexible, since points can be used from the second stay and the thresholds are fairly easy to reach. Launched on a web-only basis in 2019, Discover ASR has been a key feature of Ascott since last year. open to all customers. Business travellers in particular who can earn points for their stays, regardless of the booking channel, with the exception of some long-stay customers who are not eligible.
Ascott has also recently unveiled another programme, on a subject that is very much in the air at the moment: CSR. Can you tell us about it?
Philippe Mettey - In 2020, we launched the Ascott CARE programme, dedicated to the safety of our customers in the face of the pandemic. The CARES programme - with an 's', an acronym for community, alliance, respect, environment and supply chain - is a different story. Launched last autumn, it is one of the first hotel groups to receive the "Community, Alliance, Respect, Environment and Supply Chain" award. the GSTC labelof the World Council for Sustainable Tourism. This programme, which has a strong social component in Asia, also focuses on the selection of suppliers, the key issue of energy, on which we are actively working in Europe, and respect for non-discrimination. It's a wide-ranging programme that demonstrates our desire to become a leader in this field.
