In Paris, Raphael Rego is one of the first Michelin-starred chefs to have implemented “click & collect” as early as spring 2020. © Valentin Le Cron
Confinement, curfews, stricter hygiene rules… the current context is forcing hotels and restaurants to adapt and be imaginative. From “click & collect” to the bedroom-office, via ephemeral grocery stores, hospitality takes on a new look.
The sector was surprised at first. Then it was stunned. A virus that forced to confine France and countries beyond our borders, hoteliers and restaurateurs had never seen anything like it. So they had to adapt and adopt new ways of working, to avoid going out of business. Everyone went there on a trial and error basis. Especially for the “click & collect“, where some cooks tested up to ten containers and bags before finding the right packaging to carry and transport their small delicious dishes. Even the starred chefs got started. It’s a question of survival. With menus reviewed and corrected, where the burger sometimes made its appearance. Following the example of Raphael Rego’s burger, chef at the Oka restaurant, one star Michelin in Paris. Delivery, too, has developed. The capital’s brasseries, such as La Coupole and La Lorraine, now offer seafood platters at home, with butter, lemon, mayonnaise and… finger bowl! Same dynamic in the hotels, with a food-truck dedicated to ice cream this summer in front of the Crillon, or a “Christmas pop-up” this winter at the George V. In addition, rooms have been transformed into offices, as a result of home office and telecommuting. This is now prompting the Accor group to roll out its Wojo modular spaces, created before the health crisis in a joint venture with Bouygues: no less than 1,200 Wojo coworking spaces are also planned in Accor hotels by 2022.
Immediate success this summer for the brand-new Loire Valley Lodges. It embodies “the renewal of the country style hotel offer”, as observed by a recent study by KPMG France. © Anne-Emmanuelle Thion
Responsiveness creates opportunities
The health crisis calls into question acquired experiences and habits. Admittedly, it’s not easy at the beginning, because it shakes things up, it disrupts, but reactivity creates opportunities. Some establishments have taken advantage of the confinement to carry out renovations, in order to better respond to the new expectations of customers in the long term. Others saw the closure of their hotels or restaurants as an opportunity to train their staff, always with a perspective of the after crisis. With the personalization of future offers pushed to its maximum as a final objective. And with good reason: at the time of the mask, social distancing and alcohol-based hand sanitizer, customers will want to be reassured, feel safe, be pampered and coddled, as soon as they can push the door of a hotel or restaurant again. This is already what we have seen during the summer, with the success of establishments capable of offering comfort, cocooning, a change of scenery and good value for money. An example: the brand-new Loire Valley Lodges, in the forest of La Duporterie. It opened in July, when bankers recommended waiting until 2021. But Anne-Caroline Frey followed her instincts. The result: the director of this concept of 18 luxury lodges in a protected natural area between Blois and Saumur, achieved an occupancy rate of 95% starting July. An establishment profile linked with “the renewal of the countryside hotel offer” and “the increase in the practice of slow tourism“: two strong trends, taken from the 43rd edition of KPMG France’s annual study on “The French hotel industry”, published on October 6, 2020.
“First tangible signs of recovery in Asia and the Pacific”.
What about tomorrow? A majority of hoteliers and restaurateurs say they are optimistic. They are looking ahead to 2022, hoping for a return of international clientele by that time. Within the Accor group, there are already “the first tangible signs of recovery in Asia and the Pacific”. Meanwhile, the arrival of the first Covid vaccines gives some hope. But at the same time, everyone fears a third wave… In short, uncertainty remains for the beginning of 2021. But remember that Talent Developer was born in September 2020, between two confinements. Since then, the firm has already found internships and apprenticeships with hotel and restaurant owners who have dared, created, and reinvented themselves. Proof that the crisis is not just a curb.
Article by Anne Eveillard for Talent Developer