Top News

🍴 Teritoria's 10th edition of Les Dîners de Chefs, held from November 13 to December 10, raised €120,085 for Restaurants du Coeur. Thirty chefs hosted five charity dinners across five French cities: Cannes, Terrasson-Lavilledieu, Paris, Beaune (Aloxe-Corton), and Le Havre. A total of 795 guests attended the dinners, with tickets priced between €80 and €150, including drinks. This effort will enable 120,085 meals to be distributed in 2025. Teritoria has donated over €1 million to Restaurants du Coeur since 2014.

💰 On December 10th, at the Salon de l’Immobilier d’Entreprise (SIMI), Icade and Châteauform’ EVENT signed a Climate Committed Lease. Châteauform’ EVENT has been located at the Parc Icade des Portes de Paris since 2009, occupying 13,200 sqm across 3 buildings. This partnership aims to accelerate Châteauform’s decarbonization strategy, while Icade commits to enhancing the energy performance of these buildings, supporting its own decarbonization goals. Châteauform’ EVENT hosts over 150 corporate events annually for 200-3,000 participants.

🏦 Founded nearly a century ago, the Yaca was a family-run establishment by Laurence and François Huret. In the 1950s, it hosted cinema stars and scenes from Roger Vadim’s movie starring Brigitte Bardot "Et Dieu créa la femme" (1956). Recently acquired by Rodolphe Saadé, owner of CMA CGM, the five-star Yaca, with 32 keys, is located in the heart of old Saint-Tropez, near the citadel. Saadé, 54, joins billionaires like Franck McCourt, Stéphane Courbit, Bernard Arnault, and Alain Weill in owning luxury hotels in Saint-Tropez.

🏨 In October 2024, 47.4% of European hotels systematically offered better direct pricing than OTAs according to a 123compare report. The same report indicated a 48% increase in better direct rates in Europe from October 2023 to 2024, compared to OTA rates during high season. Paris led with 67.3% direct rates, followed by Lisbon at 66.56%, Palma de Majorca at 66.02%, Barcelona at 62.22%, and Venice at 61.91%. Hilton had the lowest "loss rate" at 23.6%, ahead of Hyatt, Accor, and IHG in October 2023. Booking.com maintained an 83% share of sponsored links, while Expedia's share dropped by 51%.

🏨 ITC Hotels currently owns 140 hotels with about 13,000 rooms and aims to expand to over 200 properties in the coming years, focusing on management contracts rather than direct ownership. In 2024, the company saw a 12.1% increase in revenue and a 20.2% profit before tax, opened new hotels including Fortune Beachfront in Puri and a Storii establishment in Jaisalmer, and plans to open roughly one hotel per month for the next two years. ITC Hotels inaugurated its first international venture in April 2024 with the 352-room luxury ITC Ratnadipa in Colombo, Sri Lanka, part of Marriott's Luxury Collection.

🏠 Maxime Blot and Jérôme Pasquet discussed hotel lost and found management at a Masterclass during EquipHotel in November 2024. They addressed hospitality challenges, emphasizing a "phygital" approach to customer experience, combining digital and physical interactions to enhance satisfaction. Highlighting before, during, and after stay touchpoints, they stressed personalized contact, balancing automation with human interaction, and personalized post-stay follow-up to cultivate customer relations and improve French hospitality's international reputation.

📆 La 25e édition de la Fête des Lumières de Lyon a eu lieu du 5 au 8 décembre 2024, attirant plus de deux millions de visiteurs. L’Office de Tourisme a noté une augmentation de fréquentation de 25 % au Pavillon, et une hausse de 73 % des ventes de Lyon City Cards pour les séjours de quatre jours.

🏦 Extendam and Sohoma acquired the Best Western Pont Wilson hotel in Lyon's third arrondissement on December 11. The four-star, 54-room hotel, catering to both leisure and business clients, features coworking space and two seminar rooms. The Green Key labeled hotel aims to update its revenue management and operational strategy while maintaining its four-star rating. This acquisition adds to the duo’s portfolio, which already includes around twenty hotels in Lyon, a strategic city located between Paris, Geneva, and Marseille. Extendam's Bertrand Pullès, Maxime Durand, and Victoria Fabre, along with Sohoma's Félix Putatti and Timothée Hainguerlot, state the purchase aligns with their investment and asset management strategy.

🔌 United Airlines integrates Apple's Share Item Location feature into its mobile app, allowing passengers to track their luggage using AirTags. The feature, compatible with the Find My network, helps locate delayed baggage and enhances traveler satisfaction. With iOS 18.2 update, a Share Item Location link can be generated, providing United's customer service with real-time, interactive maps. Location sharing automatically expires after seven days or upon user request, ensuring privacy. Passengers must have iOS 18.2 or later and the latest United app version to utilize this feature.

🍽 In 2024, an analysis based on data from 2000 French restaurants showed an average expense of €23 per person, per meal. Tips average 4.8% of the bill, reaching up to €270 in Paris. The highest bill recorded was €8167 in Île-de-France. Bill splitting is common, nearly 1 in 4 tables do it. The most critical customers are in Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur (3.75/5), while the most satisfied are in Centre-Val de Loire (4.85/5). Diners in Hauts-de-France spend the least time at 58 minutes, while those in Occitanie take the longest at 1h27.