PARIS—Business hotels here are utilizing food, furnishing and technology innovations to modernize their meeting rooms in a speedy, competitive world.
As hallowed French cuisine makes its way onto the UNESCO world heritage list, one of Paris’s business hotels has concocted an almost anti-French response to the modern meetings market.
In the name of business efficiency, the Hôtel Hyatt Regency Paris-Madeleine developed a new food-and-beverage concept to facilitate non-stop meetings and power performance for its business clientele.
The lynchpin of the hotel’s M’eating Performance program is a menu of gourmet, ready-to-go food for mid-meeting eating.
General manager Laurent Ebzant said the idea was a response to the demand for faster, cut-cost meetings among the hotel’s 70% business clientele.
“Today, performance is closely linked to the notion of speed. Before we had one hour for lunch but since late 2009, the trend has really changed—the break has to be shorter and people have neither the time nor money to spend on a full lunch menu.
“M’eating Performance allows total autonomy and flexibility to our guests. They can work efficiently and without interruption.”
While the fast-fooding formula signals a major departure from the long French business lunch, the menu still bears the hallmark of French gastronomy.
Created by head chef, Frédéric Charrier, it features Japanese lunchbox style Bentos filled with seasonal produce, mixed salads, club sandwiches and wraps, fruit salad and macaroons from famous cake shop Ladurée. For €105 per person (US$137), the M’eating formula is complemented by a candy bar and mini bar.
The unique concept fits in with Hyatt's other innovations under its successful Meeting Promise.
Damage control
The necessity to innovate is a response to the changing business climate in France as business speeds up and the business tourism market shrinks.
Business tourism analyst, Coach Omnium, said the French meetings market was dealt a major blow in 2009 by the global economic crisis and H1N1 flu, with a record drop of 7.8% in business tourism.
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In its annual business tourism survey conducted in conjunction with meeting planner guide, Bedouk, it found 63% of businesses had cut their meetings budget, 45% had cancelled them and 17% reduced the number of meetings last year. In the past decade, average conference duration had dropped from three to two days, while half-day events rose from 10% to represent a quarter of all meetings.
Hotels are well placed for weathering the changes, said Coach Omnium President Mark Watkins.
“Of the €8.4 billion euros (US$11 billion) spent in 2009 by French and foreign enterprises in France on business tourism, the major beneficiaries were three- to four-star hotels,” he said.
Cashing in
Far from suffering losses, the hotel industry seems to be cashing in on the demand for shorter, smaller, more dynamic reunions, boosted by the greater number of gatherings being held domestically. The Coach Omnium report found 29% of enterprises held their meetings overseas compared to 46% in 2002.
Multi-purpose, high-tech meeting rooms are growing in France’s leading three-star to five-star brands, accompanied by a growing inventory of made-to-measure services. The buzzwords are not only speed, productivity and adaptability, but well-being.
Novotel France is multiplying its meeting choices with high-tech, colorful and modular rooms.
Spokesperson for Accor Hotels France, Delphine Keryfser, said flexibility is the focus of Meeting@novotel innovations—the growing choices in meeting venues, in food and in furnishings are all underpinned by state-of-the-art technology.
“After a major audit of Novotel’s clients, we realized that every meeting represents an economic or strategic stake for companies—so, what to do to ensure they maximize the results?”
The brand set about reinventing the meeting.
“Whether it’s a creative session or complex meetings, Novotel is coming up with services to optimize the efficiency of the participants,” according to a press statement.
The initiatives include all-inclusive meeting packages with access to Wi-Fi, an open bar, parking, audio-visual equipment, food-and-beverage and in-meeting relaxation spaces with self-serve Nespresso machines.
The recently renovated Novotel Marseille Vieux-Port has six meeting rooms between 32 and 110 square metres and among them is the Eurek@ room.
“Conceived like a laboratory, it facilitates brainstorming, a free flow of creative ideas and offers an all inclusive service,” said manager Francois Puricelli.
The Eurek@ meeting room concept, targeted at gatherings of 10-15 people, was introduced in 20 hotels in France, the United Kingdom (London and Liverpool) and India (Bangalore) this year.
Meanwhile, a dozen other French hotels with high caliber meeting facilities for 100 or more have been baptized ‘ProAct’—on top of dedicated staff and technical services they offer private “anti-stress salons” for reunion organizers.
Quality and style remains
The move in France towards scaled-down meetings does not preclude quality and style considerations, either at the middle or high end of the hotel scale. The Novotel Paris Vaugirard Montparnasse places huge weight on the fashionable, ergonomic furnishings and Eiffel Tower views of its meeting facilities, as much as it does on innovative technology.
As conference workouts intensify, increasing importance is being placed on performance-enhancing comforts. A major revamp of the 24 meeting rooms of the Hilton Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport, emphasizes ergonomic furniture, natural light and wellbeing as well as the high tech equipment and personalized service.
“Today all the former frills have gone and seminars are concentrated on work,” said Hilton’s French marketing director Silvie Aric.
The Hyatt Regency’s Ebzant said even with less time on their hands, his clients seek a qualitative experience.
“Our meeting rooms have a small capacity, between 20 and 25 people and attract groups like the fashion industry ... We had to balance the shorter time available with their desire for something interesting and entertaining. Food is very important—as are all high-tech considerations.”
The Scribe Hotel by Sofitel also is targeting the prestige end of market: its four meeting salons are “sumptuous made-to-measure work spaces” according to manager Vincent Arnaud, for groups of 12 to 110 people. “They are elegant, modular and equipped with the latest technology.”
Despite the belt-tightening, food remains a French priority. The Scribe’s meeting breaks and meals offer creative and original food by chef Sébastien Crison.