On the Côte d’Azur, upscale and luxury hotels want to believe in the renewal and the return of foreign tourists. Admittedly, since the reopening in early May, it is the domestic segment that predominates. Logically. “We are still in a national market, but the scenario will not be identical to that of last summer, assures Yann Gillet, general manager of Martinez, in Cannes. We are gradually returning to our usual markets, particularly in Europe and the United States. Requests and reservations are ramping up for this summer. There are also expressions of interest from Russia and the Middle East. Only the Asian clientele is an exception“. We can undoubtedly see the effect of the Festival de Cannes, scheduled this year from July 6 to 17, but not only.”We talk a lot about this phenomenon of revenge tourism, we see the beginnings. People want to travel more and above all better, we can see it in the requests with requests for suites and longer length of stay “.
In this context, “the vaccination campaign in Europe reassures, in particular the American market“, indicates Franck Farneti, director of the Cap d’Antibes Beach Hotel. The downgrading of the warning issued by the American authorities for France, from level 4 (do not go there) to level 3 (avoid to go there if possible), is a sign. Tender but welcome. The reopening of the New-York Nice line by the company Delta from July 1, is another. “All the ingredients are together again, the restrictions are gradually lifting. We should find very strong occupancy rates in July“, smiles François-Régis Simon, general manager of the Grand-Hôtel du Cap-Ferrat. In short, in Nice, Cannes and Antibes, we are optimistic about the coming season. As far as possible.”We are confident, confirms Lionel Servant, leader of Negresco. I have the feeling that we are returning to a certain normality … even if real normality is not expected before April 2022.“
Winning contactless
A normality that no longer has the same contours. “The purchasing behavior and expectations of our customers have changed “, recognizes Franck Farneti. For those who also hold the presidency of Relais et Châteaux in the South, “the big winner of this crisis is contactless“. This translates, among other things, into health considerations that are sometimes difficult to put into practice, such as the demand for Covid free spaces, which would give the premium to country hotels.”At the start of the season, urban hotels do seem a little shunned, customers are more in search of outlying paradises.“, explains Audrey Jorge, director of Domaine du Mas de Pierre. Closed for 18 months from September 2019, so before the outbreak of the pandemic, the hotel in Saint-Paul de Vence has undergone a vast transformation plan – from 42 million euros – to transform into “a French resort with 8 hectares of garden. What pleads for us. “An observation shared by the manager of the Grand-Hôtel du Cap-Ferrat:”Even if the anxiety related to Covid is a little less present, people still have this apprehension of the brewing of the city. We have therefore worked a lot on outdoor experiences that we are able to provide thanks to the 7 hectares of greenery surrounding the establishment.“.
Back to the roots
“It is a temporary trend, all in all logical, that we cannot fight, reacts Lionel Servant. It is up to us, urban hotels, to reflect and adapt to attract customers“. The Negresco, whose listed facade has stood along the Promenade des Anglais for more than a century, has therefore chosen to use these months of closure to carry out a strategic reflection on its positioning, which it wants more luxury. , with a particular focus on what makes its legend. “In terms of health safety, we are impeccable, we have obtained the French and international labels which are fine, no need to add more, he explains. In a way, we want to turn the Covid page by basing our communication on our fundamentals. “In this case, art and gastronomy. But not just any. That of the short circuit, preferably.”As part of our eco-responsible policy, we have strongly developed slow-food with a purchasing methodology in the primary zone“, notes Lionel Servant. The Grand-Hôtel du Cap-Ferrat has acquired a 6,000 m2 vegetable garden where customer routes will be offered.”This is to respond to a double challenge, to show that the establishment is moving towards sustainable agriculture, and to allow the rediscovery of these agricultural areas, as a return to the sources.“, explains François-Régis Simon.
Digital fast
However, for Yann Gillet, the most profound change is undoubtedly that of digitalization. “In six months we took a ten year step, he says. If the rooms were more or less pre-equipped, the rejection rate remained high. This is no longer the case. Today, we no longer call the concierge, we go on WhatsApp“. This is all the more true for establishments welcoming a business clientele. At the Grand-Hôtel du Cap-Ferrat, where the incentive segment weighs 10 to 15%, we are preparing for”a hybridization of business tourism“. At Martinez, where the congress activity takes precedence over the wings of the season, there is even talk of a cultural revolution. To the point that as part of phase 3 of its renovation plan, which has mobilized a total of € 150 million since 2017 , the large draperies and the 10 cm thick carpet in the banquet room will give way to digital walls, projection rooms and other TV sets.
“More entrepreneurs than ever”
At Negresco, however, we want to put digital in its rightful place. For the hotelier with mainly leisure customers, “the human aspect must remain a priority, we do not delight a customer with a digital format“. This, on the other hand, could be better exploited internally, he argues, especially in the context of the search for employees. A subject for all the hoteliers questioned, who nevertheless consider themselves better off than other areas of tourist activity because they enjoy a reputation that pleads for them. “Let’s say we have less choice than before “, summarizes Ingrid Farrugia, of the Beau Rivage hotel in Nice. For whom, finally, the big change which shakes up the hotel sector after 18 months of crisis is in the way of exercising its profession. “We set ourselves filling objectives, but what value do they have when we have no visibility of the constraints that will potentially be imposed on us? We must learn to reason differently, without projection, which forces us to be even more reactive“. “More than ever we are entrepreneurs. This past year we have learned a lot and shown our capacity for resilience and adaptability, but let’s not forget, recalls Franck Farneti, it is only at the end of the ball that we pay the musicians“.
