France

Why make things complicated when you can make them simple? That, in a nutshell, is the strategy of easyHotel, a distant offshoot of the low-cost airline, but which has had nothing to do with it since the hotel group was taken over by investors Ivanohé Cambridge and ICAMAP in 2019. Apart from a minority stake in their capital...

High up in the Paris skyline, with its convention space designed to accommodate up to 2,800 people, the Hyatt Regency Paris Etoile keeps the flame of MICE alive within the Hyatt group. Like other hotels in Europe, moreover, well-equipped with meeting rooms of all sizes: the Grand Hyatt Barcelona, which has just...

Is it easy for companies to take their staff camping? Céline Bossanne - Let's be honest, there's always some apprehension. For organisers, even if more and more people have heard of Huttopia, without always taking the plunge, coming to us is a bit of a risk. Take...

Kevin Speed's ambition is to become "the" new player in high-speed rail transport by 2029. Its project has taken another step forward following the approval by the French Transport Regulation Authority (ART) of the framework agreement it signed with SNCF Réseau on 29 February. Signed for a renewable period of 10 years, the agreement...

While the situation remains critical in New Caledonia despite the imposition of a state of emergency, a curfew and the deployment of the army in the overseas territory, the riots have resulted in the isolation of the archipelago, which has been cut off from its airlines since 14 May. According to the CCI Nouvelle-Calédonie Aéroports website, air traffic remains suspended until further notice....

On Monday 29 April, SNCF unveiled the livery of its future Inoui TGV at Alstom's Belfort plant, where some of the trainsets are assembled. A little surprise: for the first time, the trains will feature a white livery with black accents on the nose of the power car, grey accents on each carriage and...

To celebrate its tenth anniversary, Ouigo is giving its 38 low-cost TGVs a facelift. Already ultra-capacious, with capacity for 1,268 passengers - the equivalent of 6 B737-800 aircraft - they will soon be even more so. The interior refurbishment, scheduled to take place between 2025 and 2027, will make it possible to add a few more seats by doing away with the bench seats and...

Widely represented in the United States, Choice Hotels has made France one of its key markets in the EMEA region. Why is this? Ricardo Losada Revol - We've been present in France for over 30 years. It's one of the biggest tourist destinations in the world, with so much to offer the 63 million members of Choice Hotels...

The French Civil Aviation Authority (DGAC) has just published its air transport price index for March and the first quarter of 2024. These passenger air transport price indices (IPTAP) are calculated using a methodology similar to that used for the construction of the air transport price index...

Passengers will be facing a major strike in French air transport on Thursday 25 April. The SNCTA (Syndicat National des Contrôleurs du Trafic Aérien - National Union of Air Traffic Controllers) is calling a 24-hour strike in protest at a new version of a protocol being negotiated with the French Air Transport Authority, which is deemed "unacceptable".

IWG opened 15 new sites in France last year, with around twenty more to come this year. This growth is also noticeable around the world. Your group seems to be on a very strong growth trajectory. Christophe Burckart - One figure alone illustrates this: IWG has started 2023 with a...

For almost ten years now, Nannybag has been giving its users peace of mind when travelling anywhere in the world, thanks to its collaborative luggage storage service provided by partner retailers. Now the start-up is offering a new option, this time for air passengers. It has joined forces with Safe Bag, a leading...

163 new air routes inaugurated by low-cost airlines for this new IATA summer season in Europe: demand for travel is strong and low-cost air transport, which is more flexible than traditional airlines, is responding. According to a study by the consultant Air Service One, some fifteen low-cost airlines have opened new routes this summer.

Accor intends to take the ecological transition of its establishments one step further by finding a partner of choice to support it: ADEME. The hotel group has just signed a framework agreement with the public body under the aegis of the French Ministry for Ecological Transition. This is a "decisive step" for Brune Poirson, Director of Sustainable Development for the French group. With its...

With Holiday Inn for IHG, Ibis for Accor and Fairfield and Courtyard for Marriott. Hampton by Hilton is one of the most widely deployed hotel brands in the world. To celebrate its 40th anniversary in the best possible way, Hilton's budget brand has just passed the 3,000 mark...

Before turning to the latest news from the Best Western network in France, let's start with a review of the year 2023. Was the business clientele there? Olivier Cohn - Clearly. We saw a real willingness to travel on the part of both large groups and SMEs. Business customers were back last year, and they're back now.

It was intended to be a French response to the €49 monthly Deutschland Ticket launched by the German government to stimulate demand for trains and public transport. French President Emmanuel Macron and his then Transport Minister, Clément Beaune, had promised a discounted France Rail Pass in 2023. It...

The traffic figures for French airports in 2023 have been coming out one after the other since the beginning of February. Often through triumphant press releases, based on an upturn in traffic that continued last year. This is confirmed by the Union des Aéroports Français (UAF) in its annual report. Last year, the...

The landing of the Tribe brand at Milan Malpensa airport, the debut of Mercure in Albania, in Tirana, the Ibis brand which continues to spread its establishments in France, the United Kingdom and Romania: the Accor group continues to develop its portfolio of premium, mid-range and economy brands across Europe. All the more so since...

Adagio recently presented excellent results for 2023, with occupancy close to 80%. What are you expecting in 2024? Xavier Desaulles - First of all, a return to normal. With an occupancy rate of 79% in 2023, it will be difficult to do much better in terms of passenger numbers, while at the same time...