Little known to the general public, Jean-Jacques Vallet is nevertheless a key player in the evolution of the luxury hotel landscape in the Indian Ocean.
In January 1994, when he joined Constance Hotels & Resorts, only one establishment was opened, that of Belle Mare Plage, on Mauritius.
Thirty years later, the CEO is at the head of a group made up of eight properties (whose occupancy rate exceeded 73% in 2022), more than 3,000 employees and exclusive representatives in Europe, Asia and Africa. from South.
This boss has one objective: to develop his portfolio, expanding to around twenty establishments in the years to come.
Yet its strategy, far from being a simple growth trajectory, reflects a deep understanding of the subtleties of this niche market.
This 55-year-old businessman does not just follow trends, but engages in a proactive approach to shape the future of the group from the rural setting of the Constance sugar estate in Mauritius.
With three hotels in Mauritius, two in the Seychelles, two in the Maldives and one in Madagascar, Constance Hotels Resorts & Golf has expanded its range to position itself in lifestyle with the creation of a more lifestyle sister brand, C Resorts, in 2022. Three openings are also announced for 2024. How can we maintain excellence and consistency of services through such an ambitious expansion?
We talk about it with our manager.
Also readOlivier Kervella: “Modest customers have access to a hotel that is superior to that of 10 years ago”
Jean-Jacques Vallet, General Manager of the Constance Hotels and Resorts group.
Constance Hotels / Photo prese
LE FIGARO - What made Constance Hotels & Resorts successful?
Jean-Jacques Vallet
- It's an addition of many things.
The first hotel dates from 1975, a small beach establishment that has evolved over time.
At the beginning of the 1990s, the group wanted to expand with a second hotel in Mauritius, then the Seychelles, Madagascar, Maldives and most recently Rodrigue.
The desire was to offer luxury hotels in the Indian Ocean, in dream destinations.
We built our properties according to the destination, we try to make the architecture blend with the concept of the country.
Then we worked a lot with the collaborators.
Even if the place is sublime, if there is no human behind it with consistent quality, we cannot offer a true luxury experience.
That’s thanks to the men and the management teams.
As I always say: in the hotel industry, true luxury is people above all.
This is what we have been working tirelessly for all these years to achieve these results.
Today in the region, we consider ourselves among the best in terms of
guest reviews
(
notes left by customers on the platform after their stay., Editor's note
) of large international groups.
Isn't it the DNA of all luxury hoteliers to provide quality?
This is the leitmotif of the luxury industry, but at Constance Hotels & Resorts, in any case, it is an intrinsic part of our culture.
We measure it every day and this is what our employees must have in mind every day: that our customers are happy to be with us.
And after ten or fifteen years, that’s what makes a difference.
In addition, we are a group on a human scale, our managers have been there for more than twenty years, like many of our employees, which also makes us different.
Tell us about the Constance Culinary Festival
The Constance Culinary Festival is an annual gastronomic event that celebrates the richness of Mauritian culinary tradition and the fusion of this with international influences.
Two watchwords: transmission and sharing with Michelin-starred chefs, pastry chefs and renowned sommeliers from around the world who come together to create an unforgettable gastronomic experience.
This year in March (
at Constance Belle Mare Plage and at Constance Prince Maurice, Editor's note
), the 17th edition is enriched by the exceptional collaboration of three-star chef Régis Marcon and our great friend Pierre Hermé, as well as the loyal support of our partner , the Deutz house.
Another particularity of the group is the place of wine?
We have been working with major winegrowers from around the world for 15 years (80% of whom are European).
The group has the best wine cellars in the Indian Ocean.
We have a fairly spectacular menu with very reasonable prices, because they are purchased directly from the winegrowers.
This represents around fifty refrigerated containers per year and approximately 400,000 bottles per year.
In Mauritius, the Constance Belle Mare Plage cellar can accommodate up to 30,000 bottles of more than 2,500 world references, it is the largest in the Indian Ocean.
We have a lot of events around wine and we regularly bring in winegrowers to take care of the training of our sommeliers, there are almost a hundred of them spread across our eight hotels!
In ten years, has the rise in hotel prices changed customer behavior?
I do not think so.
The basis of the hotel industry remains the quality of sleep, good food, the sites and the quality of the service.
As I just said, haute cuisine and delicate wines are also an integral part of the group's offering.
Apart from all this, today we are indeed obliged to add and reinvent ourselves to offer more experience.
We must avoid the effect of weariness.
Our goal is to keep our customers as long as possible and for them to come back as often as possible!
For some, the Constance group has even become a destination in its own right.
Your favorite Constance hotel Jean-Jacques Vallet?
“It's very difficult as a Mauritian, but as a couple with my wife, I would say Lemuria Seychelles, for the site and the beach and of course, Belle Mare in Mauritius, particularly for its championship 18-hole golf course and its Coral reef.
Magic !"
Do we come back to your hotels a lot?
It will depend on the periods, but roughly speaking, I would say that in Mauritius, we are at least 30% repeaters
,
in the Seychelles between 20% and 25%, and in the Maldives between 15% and 20%.
But during certain periods of the year, notably festive periods, this can rise up to 60%, or even more.
Visit of C Mauritius
Access the slideshow (11)
Why create a new collection?
The C brand is to create a category of hotel that meets a need, that of generation X of which I am part.
A beautiful clientele who are between 30 and 60 years old today and who wanted to benefit from experiences more than infrastructure.
The first C Mauritius opened its doors in October 2022 and is already a success, particularly with the French market.
For 2024, we have just signed a new contract for a new establishment in Rodrigue, still with a very nice geographical site.
In Mauritius, we are
all inclusive
, in Rodrigue, we don't know yet.
You should not lock the client in if the location is not suitable.
The reason for this slightly less luxurious sister brand is to fill a missing space in the hotel offering.
This also allows us to use this lever to accelerate our growth.
Read alsoHotel C Mauritius in Mauritius, the expert opinion of Le Figaro
What are your plans for 2024?
The immediate future is the opening of three hotels: two in Rodrigues and one in Mauritius.
Rodrigues is a new destination for the group.
In this paradise, just an hour and a half flight from Mauritius, there will be a 67-room hotel on an extraordinary site where kite surfers from all over the world come during the windy season.
The other, a small lodge hotel, the former Teckoma, will become a Constance Hotel.
In Mauritius, this will be a confidential boutique hotel.
Everything will be ready for October-November.
In the meantime, we are also in talks for a potential hotel in Zanzibar.
Which would make a sixth destination in the Indian Ocean.
Are you thinking about a destination other than the Indian Ocean that fits your brand?
We are in discussions for an operator contract in Thailand, in Koh Samui, and have projects in Oman.
It's a little early to talk about it, but it's a destination that corresponds to our clientele...
Also read: Aurélie Sandler (Evaneos): “Travel far, okay, but less often and for longer”