A Paris without foreign tourists, or almost. Little or no Americans, Chinese and Japanese who are, apart from Europeans, the nationalities which visit the capital the most. This is the scenario for which Parisian hoteliers are preparing to gradually resume their activity for several weeks. Despite the reopening of the external borders of the Schengen area on July 1, non-European nationalities will take time before revisiting France, due to the lack of long-haul flights.
“ The hotel industry in Paris is 50% foreign customers and 50% French customers , schematizes Grégory Pourrin, general manager of the Paris Inn group (Maison Albar), using data from the Regional Tourism Committee. Among the latter, business customers will be almost absent until September. The sector must therefore rely on French leisure tourists who represent the remaining quarter. As of June 11, only one room in ten was occupied in Paris, compared to 23% in Île-de-France and 30% in all of France, according to the Union of Trades and Hotel Industry (Umih) .
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"We must prepare now for the recovery in September"
A very low occupancy rate which calls for hoteliers to be cautious. According to a barometer from the Regional Tourism Committee, carried out from May 11 to 13 with 300 Ile-de-France accommodation providers, 21% of them planned to reopen in June, 3% in July and 6% in September. More than a third do not know when it will reopen.
" If we have little chance of being sold out, we must nevertheless reopen now to prepare for the resumption of activity in September, " insists Romain Trollet, CEO of the Assas Hotels group, owner of three establishments in Paris. For larger hotel groups, several criteria play on the reopening dates: number of rooms, size of establishment, ease of quickly applying the health protocol, etc. " We have reopened in priority the establishments offering the most services and which have the most developed catering part, in particular on the terrace ", details Kévin Machefert, deputy general manager of the Machefert group, which reopens in June half of its 20 establishments Parisians.
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Parisian palaces await the return of their clientele
Le Bristol, one of eleven Parisian palaces, whose reopening is only scheduled for September 1, 2020. Oetker Collection
Hoteliers nevertheless expect to welcome Germans, Spaniards or Swiss, thanks to the reopening of Europe's internal borders. " Our neighbors might want to discover Paris otherwise, without the crowds ," Grégory Pourrin suggests. But they will only come if they are guaranteed to be able to visit museums and monuments, and in conditions that are not too restrictive. "
The opening of the Schengen area, and especially the resumption of long-haul flights, is particularly awaited by luxury hotels, whose clientele, 90% foreign, is mainly from the United States, Asia and the Middle -East. If the smallest Parisian palace, La Réserve, has already reopened, others, such as Le Crillon or the Plaza Athénée, are waiting for July or even August (Park Hyatt Paris-Vendôme, Le Mandarin Oriental ...). Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré in the 8th arrondissement, the Bristol will welcome its guests from September 1. “ It's the right timing , insists Luca Allegri, director of the Parisian palace. Our loyal customers reacted enthusiastically to our reopening announcement. The next two months will allow us to finalize with a little advance the renovation work [new rooms and suites and fully refurbished garden, editor's note] started before confinement. "
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Rooms transformed into offices or restaurants
Some hoteliers therefore put their hopes in national, regional or even Parisian customers. “ Normally, Parisians stay in their city on Sunday evening. Since the deconfinement, it's almost every day of the week ”, observes Romain Trollet. Staying in your own city? It is the principle of staycation , contraction of " stay ", stay, and " vacation ", vacation. A practice which, according to the hoteliers interviewed, has made new followers the previous summers ... during heat waves. The suffocating Parisians looking for air-conditioned places turned to hotels near their homes.
The 25hours Terminus Nord transforms part of its rooms into offices for teleworkers. 25hours
To attract these local tourists, professionals redouble their inventiveness. The Fauchon hotel, a five-star with 54 rooms located on the Place de la Madeleine (8th arr.), Will put in place a new catering offer as soon as the rooms reopen on July 1. " We will offer hotel guests dinner in the room with the same quality of service as in the dining room and with a personal butler ," explains director Jérôme Montanteme.
For its part, the 25hours Terminus Nord is launching a reopening offer including a 30% reduction and free breakfast and mini-bar on stays until December 31st reserved before June 28th. The hotel, located opposite the Gare du Nord (10th arr.), Is surfing the telework mode by transforming part of its rooms into offices. Teleworkers looking for comfort can rent a room for the day (€ 50) or for the week (€ 200). An initiative also led by the Hôtel du Temps (9th arr.), Renamed for the occasion as the "Office du Temps", which rents out its rooms (55 €) and suites (75 €) for the day.
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But are the French ready to spend as much as usual customers? The hoteliers questioned expect spending to be postponed. " The budget that will not go into a plane ticket for the other side of the world will be allocated to other items, such as accommodation and activities, " dares to believe Grégory Pourrin. “ The local clientele seeks above all to live an experience. It therefore spends more on hotel services, such as catering and wellness services , ”continues Romain Trollet.
A platform to promote direct bookings
The Save your hotel site wants to encourage direct bookings, without the intermediary of a platform. Save your hotel
Innovating to bounce back is the mindset of professionals in the sector. "This crisis must push us to reinvent our ecosystem ", according to Kévin Machefert, who co-created with several independent hoteliers Save your hotel to support French tourism. “ The idea had germinated in February, when the virus had only just appeared in Europe. After three months of hotel closings, the initiative takes on its full meaning. Saving your hotel means saving your summer and your vacation. "
There are short circuits in food, so why not apply it to tourism?
Kévin Machefert, Deputy General Manager of the Machefer GroupConcretely, these hoteliers will offer via the platform a collection of committed offers, accessible throughout France, all without intermediaries. Nearly 2,000 establishments across France have registered on the site, looking like a directory. Each establishment indicates its reopening date, the minimum price and the advantages offered this summer (bottle of wine, breakfast, wellness service, upgrade ...). A link returns to the official website of the hotel where, promises Kévin Machefert, “ the rates are more advantageous than on booking platforms . While the government calls to support the French economy, it seems normal to do without intermediaries . There are short circuits in food, so why not apply it to tourism? Everyone wins: the client who benefits from the best rate and the hotelier who does not have to pay commissions to foreign platforms. "