NEW YORK–Paris-based Concorde Hotels and Resorts is aiming to grow on both the managed and affiliate front. On top of a portfolio of historic properties, the company offers potential partners a wealth of marketing and distribution expertise, said Françoise Houdebine, VP of sales and marketing.
“We spend a lot on distribution and marketing; the greatest part by far on digital,” Houdebine said. “We have a mobile version of our website available and will unveil our mobile app in a few months. It will feature services like e-check-in and e-checkout.”
Concorde is a group of just 25 properties—seven owned and managed, five third-party managed and 13 affiliates—but the company has a very high profile for a couple of reasons. One: It is a division of Starwood Capital Group, whose CEO is high-profile hotelier Barry Sternlicht. Two: It operates some of France’s most iconic hotels, including Hotel de Crillon in Paris and the Hotel Martinez in Cannes.
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Concorde is part of the Groupe du Louvre, which Sternlicht bought from the Taittinger family (makers of the champagne) in 2005. It also includes four brands of economy hotels under Louvre Hotels, as well as the Baccarat crystal company.
While Concorde “makes available” its operational standards, affiliates do not have to adhere to them. However, Houdebine said, “Before we take on an affiliate we have to be sure that they fit with our portfolio. We have rejected applicants because their location or client base simply didn’t mesh with what we are doing.”
The only current U.S. affiliate is the Hotel Colonnade in Boston.
Concorde’s latest affiliate is the Mansour Eddahbi in Marrakech, Morocco, which will undergo a major renovation. Concorde also contracted to manage the adjoining convention center in Marrakech because the company is a recognized expert in the meeting and incentive market as a result of managing large conference properties like the Concorde La Lafayette in Paris.
What distinguishes Concorde properties is their individuality.
“We are unified but not uniform,” Houdebine said. “Each of our properties is highly reflective of its location. Also, with the heritage of hotels like Hotel de Crillon, they have a strong historical connection. We will be looking for other iconic hotels.”
While Concorde does brand some hotels, it will not do so with landmarks like the Crillon.
To maintain its heritage, Concorde is spending more than US$13 million on a restoration of the façade of the Crillon, which is more than 200 years old. The work includes using “micro-injections” to fortify the stone from the inside out.
The company identity
Houdebine said that Concorde operates independently from its sister economy hotel company, Louvre Hotels. However, she added, “We are in the same building in Paris and if there is an issue of mutual concern we will talk about it.”
While Sternlicht had discussed creating hotel brands under both the Crillon and Baccarat names before the economic downturn, Houdebine said she is not aware of any current activity in that direction.
Another part of Concorde’s identity is a substantial corporate social responsibility program that was launched more than a year ago. According to Houdebine, Sternlicht attended a Concorde meeting three years ago and asked what the company was doing for the community. At the time, Houdebine said, the answer was nothing.
Now, Houdebine said, Concorde has made great strides environmentally with all owned and managed hotels to be Green Globe certified by year end, and all of those hotels are using organic cosmetics. In addition, she said, the group has a strong commitment to diversity as far as inclusion of women, seniors and the handicapped.
Finally, the company has raised US$167,000 for CARE France, the non-governmental organization to fund drinking water and deforestation projects.
Houdebine said the CSR effort was good for staff morale and “for recruiting, especially young people.” She said it was also good for business as corporations and meeting planners look for CSR elements in their requests for proposal.
To gain traction for the CSR initiative, Concorde created a video game for associates called Experts PlanetLab. It has been adopted by FAFIH, the French government’s continuing education support center for the hotel industry.
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Françoise Houdebine |