Five years after its launch, The Originals name is making its mark on the French hotel landscape, according to Olivier Dufit, its new general manager, who has taken over from Philippe Marguet, who retired this summer. A single brandwhich brings together under its umbrella the offerings of Inter-Hotel, Relais du Silence, Qualys-Hotel, P'tit Dej-Hotel and Hôtels-Chalets de Tradition. growing brand awareness" . " While it is still behind some of the big brands, it is being given greater consideration.explains Olivier Dufit. It was essential to make this shift with this global brand, which does not, however, overwhelm the identity of each of the hotels." .
The cooperative currently has 330 hotels and its network is attracting new hoteliers, with 20 new establishments due to be added by 2023. " 2024 should also be a good year for recruitment, as we have already signed 16 contracts to date and a total of 28 are planned for this year.e ". Among the six subsets of The Originals brand, these are Relay and Collection categories These include Domaine de Camboyer (The Originals Collection) in Montferrand, between Toulouse and Carcassonne, Domaine de Haslach (The Originals Collection) in Munster and Maison Tatihou (The Originals Relais) in Saint Vaast la Hougue. " With hotels ranging in size from 8 to 300 rooms, combining old stone with modern facilities, this mix is our greatest asset." says the hotel group's new CEO.
Non-standardised hotels, a presence covering a wide range of provincial towns and cities, from the largest to the smallest: The Originals offer has arguments to appeal to business travellers on their domestic journeys. Moreover, if its sales have grown over the first eight months of the year, rising from 81.5 million euros in 2023 to 83.2 million in 2024, the cooperative owes this in part to growth in the corporate segment.
Looking back over the past few months, Olivier Dufit praised " the quality of distribution on the business market, thanks in particular to our partner Amadeus, which enables us to connect with the major players in the market and to have strong distribution increases on GDSs and corporate OTAs" . In figures, the increase was +34% via the GDSs last year and amounts to +68% via corporate OTAs. With regard to agencies, The Originals also notes that ". CWT's turnover increased by 59 % between January and July 2024, while bookings via Egencia have grown since its acquisition by AMEX" . Indirect sales have in fact continued to grow this year, with +17 % over the period from January to July 2024.
" The growth in negotiated fares and the increase in corporate bookings confirm the growing importance of this channel" emphasises the hotel network. To take this a step further, as part of its drive to boost sales performance - one of its priority objectives for 2024 and 2025 - The Originals intends to promote its direct offers to businesses more widely, Business BB packages and Soirées Étapes. The promotion is due to run throughout the second half of 2024 and into the coming year, both on the website and via a communications plan. " We want to ensure that as many hoteliers as possible promote these stopover evenings. This was not always the case, even though this offer is one of the strong points of our network." says Olivier Dufit.
More generally, The Originals has contracts with 200 companies and intends to develop relations with the corporate world. " Even though we know that the market is moving towards intermediation. In this context, in terms of indirect distribution, the work we've done with Amadeus allows us to be ultra-connected with everything that exists." says the Managing Director of The Originals. This commitment has resulted in the internal recruitment of a person responsible for developing both framework contracts and the MICE market.
Because The Originals intends boosting the seminar business " put on hold for a while in previous years" says Olivier Dufit. With 170 hotels in the network capable of hosting corporate events, the group is aiming to achieve sales of €500,000 in this market by 2024, and €900,000 by 2025. through a mix of direct canvassing, optimising the network's visibility on platforms such as Aleou, Kactus and Rejolt, and an increased presence at trade fairs such as IFTM and Heavent Meetings." he continues.
Against this backdrop, The Originals is expecting a good third quarter, after a rollercoaster summer with disappointing June and July, but an August buoyed by the Olympic Games and the holidays, as well as a postponement of business activity to the fourth quarter and early 2025. To continue attracting businesses, the cooperative - a model "efficient and virtuous "Olivier Dufit says proud "also makes CSR one of the pillars of its strategy. The Originals has been awarded the "AFNOR Committed to CSR" label and will be stepping up its efforts to commit 90 % of its network to a CSR approach by the end of 2025, marked by concrete actions with a three-year decarbonisation roadmap and the promotion of responsible purchasing.
