There’s a brand new boss on the town ensuring Sofitel, an almost 60-year-old resort chain synonymous with French luxurious and hospitality, doesn’t get misplaced in an period when it appears like a brand new resort model will get introduced each day.
Maud Bailly — CEO of French resort conglomerate Accor’s Sofitel, MGallery Assortment and Emblems Assortment manufacturers since January — isn’t any stranger to the workings of the journey sphere.
Till the company reorganization that put her in command of the three manufacturers, Bailly was Accor’s CEO of Southern Europe for greater than two years and oversaw the corporate’s digital operation for almost 4 years previous to that. She additionally spent 4 years on the French railway firm SNCF.
The Bailly period of Sofitel, MGallery and Emblems is already off to a powerful begin with the latest opening of the Sofitel Legend Casco Viejo, Panama Metropolis. Different latest high-profile openings embody properties in Dubai and Barcelona, and a serious renovation is underway on the model’s Auckland, New Zealand, location.
Sofitel Legend is a specialised model throughout the Sofitel orbit that focuses on reworking heritage properties into luxurious lodges. Emblems Assortment is Accor’s new luxurious smooth model (to compete with the likes of Hilton’s LXR and Marriott’s The Luxurious Assortment), whereas MGallery is a high-end assortment of lodges that competes in the identical bracket as Marriott’s Autograph Assortment and Hilton’s Curio.
Bailly’s present oversight encompasses 241 lodges throughout the three manufacturers. Sofitel turns 60 subsequent Could, and it’s clear Bailly is preserving busy ensuring the model seems its greatest forward of its milestone birthday.
“It’s great, however generally after 60 years, you want a lifting,” Bailly stated with amusing to TPG through the Sofitel Legend grand opening week in Panama late final month. “And even with pure magnificence, generally you want a full renovation.”
Finessing a legacy luxurious model
Paris-based Accor is Europe’s largest resort firm and has a big presence world wide. American vacationers are probably most acquainted with Accor’s Fairmont, Sofitel and Raffles luxurious manufacturers and its way of life resort manufacturers like 21C Museum Accommodations, The Hoxton, Delano and Mondrian (these fall beneath the Ennismore model offshoot, of which Accor has a majority stake).
Sofitel, which Accor acquired in 1980, has lengthy been one of many French resort conglomerate’s most luxurious manufacturers. It’s additionally arguably the model most tied to Accor’s residence nation: The model opened its first resort in Strasbourg in 1964 however expanded globally within the Seventies, together with its first U.S. resort in Minneapolis.
Join our each day e-newsletter
The model is understood for providing French luxurious in its lodges world wide, that means you’ll hear a “Bonjour” from staffers and see touches like French meals and drinks on the menu whether or not you’re staying at a Sofitel flagship in Paris or Panama.
Sofitel expanded globally over time, and a few within the resort trade argued that got here on the expense of the visitor expertise.
The model was changing into a catch-all for all kinds of lodges, the pondering went. On condition that Sofitel is Accor’s most international luxurious model, one can’t assist however really feel some similarity to Sheraton — probably the most international of Marriott’s manufacturers, which has additionally confronted critique for many years concerning the shortage of a cohesive visitor expertise throughout its wide selection of properties.
Nonetheless, Sofitel’s model overhaul seems to be a lot additional alongside than Sheraton’s. Accor’s first Sofitel face-lift arrived within the early 2000s. This meant slicing ties with about half the model’s lodges on the time. Sofitel had 121 lodges world wide on the finish of final yr, together with properties in Chicago, New York Metropolis, Philadelphia, Los Angeles and Washington, D.C.
It seems the model finessing continues beneath Bailly’s tutelage.
Operations groups are at work assessing every property’s high quality stage and dealing with house owners to carry the model to its full potential. This implies Bailly herself is spending loads of time on the highway to examine properties. Our Panama Metropolis meetup arrived as Bailly spent the prior weeks visiting lodges in Bangkok, Singapore, New Zealand, Australia, Dubai, Los Angeles, New York Metropolis and Colombia.
Working with house owners to renovate an current resort is all the time the very best consequence, however Bailly indicated some lodges will in the end depart the Sofitel system.
“Individuals love the model. It has been performing very nicely, and generally a tough temptation is to maintain the product as it’s as a result of it is nonetheless performing nicely, whereas the product is just not that good anymore,” she stated. “My function is to nudge [owners] and clearly ask for the renovation, clear the community, open flagships and ensure we elevate the model requirements and shield them.”
Sofitel within the Americas
There are solely six Sofitel Legend lodges on the earth, however the Panama opening does give some clues into what Bailly has in retailer for the broader Sofitel model and the way she may develop the MGallery and Emblems collections.
Lengthy story quick: It’s higher to be selective and play hard-to-get when mapping out future resort areas.
“It is advantageous for me to say ‘no’ greater than we are saying ‘sure,’” Bailly stated. “We have to be constant. Consistency is a part of luxurious. On the finish of the day, I am the guardian of the consistency and the standard of the model in order that regardless of the place you journey, you are going to say, ‘Ah, this can be a Sofitel Legend,’ or, ‘That is MGallery. That is Emblem,’ or, ‘That is Sofitel.’”
The U.S. stays a progress alternative for Sofitel. The model stays among the best recognized of Accor’s choices within the U.S., but it surely doesn’t have as many areas as its opponents. Bailly hinted upgrades are coming to the U.S. areas.
“I am presently assembly every proprietor to see how we can assist them to renovate the product and in addition improve the model consciousness within the U.S.,” Bailly stated.
There are a number of potential lodges within the works in “key U.S. locations,” she added, whereas additionally noting the MGallery smooth model can also be discovering an viewers right here with areas in Miami and, extra just lately, Seattle.
The general model often caps out at 150 rooms and has a visitor expertise tilted extra towards design and the encompassing group — an analogous vibe to way of life manufacturers with which Accor is discovering luck with U.S. growth, like The Hoxton and 21C Museum Accommodations.
“You could possibly think about many MGallery lodges throughout the U.S.,” Bailly stated.
It’s straightforward to take a line like that as one thing any resort govt would say. Nonetheless, there are indicators Accor is discovering extra luck within the U.S. A Raffles mission slated to open in Boston this summer time was initially a head-scratcher, given the model isn’t as nicely referred to as the competitors, like St. Regis or Waldorf Astoria.
The Boston improvement workforce later went on the report to say they most popular working with Accor due to the higher autonomy provided in constructing out their ultraluxury property.
Return to the 1977 article concerning the Sofitel in Minneapolis, and there’s comparable commentary greater than 4 a long time in the past as to why that resort proprietor labored with the French model over U.S. opponents like Hyatt and Hilton.
Historical past repeats itself. That presents a serious tailwind for Accor for progress within the Americas.
