{"id":175581,"date":"2024-06-20T16:20:56","date_gmt":"2024-06-20T14:20:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.voyages-d-affaires.com\/?p=175581"},"modified":"2024-06-20T16:20:57","modified_gmt":"2024-06-20T14:20:57","slug":"josenhans-grape-hospitality-interview","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.voyages-d-affaires.com\/en\/josenhans-grape-hospitality-interview","title":{"rendered":"F. Josenhans (Grape Hospitality): \"We're expected to deliver on the experience, the day-to-day welcome\"."},"content":{"rendered":"

Grape Hospitality owns or manages around a hundred hotels under franchise from Accor, IHG and Louvre Hotels. Let's look back at the origins of your group. <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Fr\u00e9d\u00e9ric Josenhans - <\/strong>The adventure began in 2016 with the acquisition of 85 businesses from the Accor group. With our shareholders, i.e. Eurazeo for 70% and AccorInvest for more or less the rest of the capital, we thought it would be preferable to concentrate value creation at all levels, by owning both the premises and the goodwill, in addition to operating the hotels. A totally atypical model. Our aim was simple: investing in the renovation of these hotels<\/strong>Finally, we wanted to create value by managing costs more closely and optimising sales in a slightly different way, particularly in the restaurant sector. For example, some of our establishments had excellent locations for chain restaurants, and we became franchisees for brands such as Hippopotamus, Pizza del Arte and Bistrot R\u00e9gent. At the same time, we created Grape Bars for hotels that didn't have restaurants, and in-house brasseries for those that did. This is what business travellers like: restaurants that are appreciated by local customers without having to leave the hotel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How do you position yourself in relation to these hotel groups?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Fr\u00e9d\u00e9ric Josenhans - <\/strong>Our model is linked to the asset-light strategy of all these major groups, which have divested themselves of the management of their establishments in segments ranging from economy to premium. From then on, these groups concentrated on two fundamental areas of expertise: distribution and marketing. When you choose one of their brands, you expect first and foremost bringing you customers<\/strong>This is achieved through direct sales and the loyalty programme, as well as through the group's agreements with indirect distributors such as Booking and Expedia. In addition, their global vision gives them a clear view of customer expectations and enables them to adapt their brands to these changes. For players like us, it's difficult to envisage the changing habits of Chinese customers. The big brands are expected to be there. And we're expected to deliver on the customer experience, our day-to-day welcome and the motivation of our staff. This is the real change compared with the time when Accor managed almost all these hotels.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this context, how are relations with corporate customers shared?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Fr\u00e9d\u00e9ric Josenhans - <\/strong>Today, franchisors handle major accounts and large event agencies, but that's where it stops. As a result, we deal with the corporate and MICE markets essentially locally, like an independent hotel, through<\/strong> our sales force<\/strong>. We can see that this is where most of our production is today. It is obviously important for our hotels to be referenced by the major business travel intermediaries in order to reach the very largest groups. However, since COVID we have seen that there has been a significant reduction in business travel by very large companies. They were the first to cut back on travel, to review their travel policies for various reasons, budgetary of course, but also concerning CSR or teleworking. To replace them, we have placed particular emphasis on working with large SMEs, which are major contributors to our hotels.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Atypical meeting room at Novotel Barcelona Cornella<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Pullman Toulouse Airport<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

How do you see the MICE market developing?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Fr\u00e9d\u00e9ric Josenhans - <\/strong>It's clear that, since the recovery, green MICE<\/strong> has grown considerably, unlike large meetings in very large hotels. This market is running out of steam. I'm not sure that bringing together 600 or 1000 people, many of whom fly in, is the way of the future. On the other hand, small seminars are. Companies can spend a little more per participant and get a very different experience in return from a traditional hotel right next to a station, for example.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You've created your own brand, Demeures de Campagne, which focuses on both MICE and leisure.<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Fr\u00e9d\u00e9ric Josenhans - <\/strong>In our initial portfolio, we had three slightly atypical hotels in the Paris region, in Fontainebleau, Le Coudray and Le Coudray. Maffliers<\/a>. These establishments under the Novotel or Mercure banners - and still do - were dedicated to MICE, but didn't really have a weekend offer. This was despite the exceptional locations and venues, such as the Panhart family's former country house at Le Coudray, set in some fifteen hectares of parkland. It was possible toto expand the leisure activities of these hotels<\/strong>This is all the more important at a time when seminar activity is restricted to Tuesdays and Thursdays. This is all the more important nowadays, when seminar activity is restricted to Tuesdays and Thursdays. Our Demeures de Campagne offer places where Parisians can feel at home at weekends and during the holidays, with activities to share with the family, cookery classes and an accrobranche. At Ch\u00e2teau de Maffliers, we were also able to buy the outbuildings and turn them into eight g\u00eetes with a total of 40 rooms, plus hotel services.<\/p>\n\n\n\n