Relais & Chateaux is launching its "Séminaires d'exception" programme, which brings together around a hundred European hotels that have signed up to a specific quality charter, with the aim of becoming a key player in the upscale meetings market in Europe within the next three years. These establishments, which target small-scale events of between 5 and 30 people, have been selected according to three main criteria: they must be less than 30 minutes from an airport or railway station; they must have at least 15 rooms and two meeting rooms with a minimum surface area of 80 m².
"This is not just a collection of hotels put together in a guide, but a real commercial programme", explains Thomas Jobbé-Duval, the chain's Marketing and Product Development Director. Indeed, in order to penetrate a MICE segment from which it has been absent until now - even though the members of the voluntary chain have of course not waited for this initiative to host meetings on an individual basis - Relais & Châteaux has entered into a partnership with Business Profilers. This 'venue finder' specialises in finding and organising events, and is making its central booking office available to the programme. After advising customers on their choice, the centre guarantees a response within 4 hours on availability in the selected establishments and then promises a personalised quote within 24 hours. The website meetings.relaischateaux.com and a guide in four languages.
The strength of these exceptional seminars obviously lies in the tranquillity of charming establishments, ideal for reflection, but above all in the personality of their often multi-starred owners. Gastronomy is naturally the keystone of the entire Relais & Châteaux MICE offering, with incentives - cookery and oenology courses with star chefs - right up to date with the times. These hotels also have meeting spaces that are often unusual, such as a 17th-century church at the Couvent des Minimes in the Alpes de Haute-Provence, an orchid greenhouse in a landscaped garden at the Mas de Pierre in St Paul de Vence, or a wine cellar in the vineyards at the Relais de Poste in the Landes.
