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🏥 The 24th Hospitality Awards ceremony will be held on November 28 at the InterContinental Paris Le Grand, with public voting in several categories. Under the High Patronage of French President Emmanuel Macron, the event is chaired by Puneet Chhatwal, CEO of Indian Hotels Company Limited. Juror Mouna Sepehri, with her experience at Renault and co-founder of Orson, leads an impartial jury of experts from diverse backgrounds to evaluate the most significant innovations and initiatives in the sector.

🏨 Hotels do not generate demand on their own, except in rare cases like Ushuaïa in Ibiza. Demand generation vs. demand capture: hotels should focus on capturing demand where they can compete. Key demand generators include destinations, tour operators, airlines/railways, and major media outlets, with social media becoming increasingly accessible and impactful. Cinetourism moves almost 100 million tourists annually, with Gen Z favoring social media over Google for travel inspiration. Hotels compete with metasearch and OTAs (Online Travel Agencies) in capturing demand. Effective demand attraction by hotels involves understanding the customer, maintaining a competitive and attractive product, managing online reputation, monitoring prices, offering promotions, running specific marketing campaigns, ensuring visibility, and analyzing real hotel demand to plan strategies. Direct sales can derive demand toward channels with lower intermediation costs. It's vital for hotels to focus on existing demand and plan distribution strategies accordingly.

📶 Wifirst, a European leader in managed WiFi, offers a turnkey solution for Banks & Insurances, focusing on customer experience and operational efficiency. The WiFi as a Service model ensures robust, secure infrastructure compliant with strict industry standards, supports digital services, and includes proactive AI-based supervision. With a fixed subscription, clients avoid hidden costs and receive full service with maintenance and equipment updates. Wifirst's carbon intensity is four times lower than the telecommunications sector average, aligning with financial institutions' environmental responsibility. This service enables IT departments to concentrate on core business innovations.

🏖️ In 2023, the UK welcomed 38 million foreign visitors, who spent £31.1 billion; figures expected to rise to £32.5 billion this year. The tourism economy is crucial for growth and jobs in the UK. The report recommends reforming England's apprenticeship funding, business tax rates, considering benefits of duty-free shopping for visitors, and prioritizing road connectivity to ports and train terminals. It also warns against the economic drag of potential tourist taxes.

🏨 Korner Hotels, a new hotel group with 6 establishments in Paris, implemented an innovative management model through its Korner Management System (KMS). This model, known as a Decentralized Autonomous Organization (DAO), offers accelerated professional growth, allowing Korner Hosts to take on responsibilities within as little as one and a half months. Employees have the flexibility and autonomy to shape their career path by selecting from various roles, typically holding two additional roles besides their traditional reception duties. An Ipsos societal observatory report in 2023 revealed that 70% of leaders struggle to understand the professional aspirations of the under-30s, while 93% of Generation Z views flexible career opportunities as essential.

🍴 The Trophée du Maître d’Hôtel semi-finals were held on October 28 at the Institut Lyfe in Ecully, revealing six finalists: 3 women and 3 men. They will compete in the final on January 25 at the SIRHA in Lyon. Notable jury members included Denis Férault, President of the Trophée, and founders Denis Courtiade and Hervé Parmentier. Finalists represent prestigious establishments such as Le Art*, La Table de Pavie**, Café Beau-Rivage, Eden Roc & Louroc*, La Marine, and Le Gabriel***.

🏕 During September-October 2024, Flower Campings saw a +16% increase in occupancy rates compared to the previous year, surpassing the end-of-August forecast by 3 points. Despite unpredictable weather, September gains popularity among French vacationers. A continued success from August 2024, with a 3% rise in reservations compared to August 2023. The Toussaint holiday period registered a 39.5% spike in booked nights and a 19.35% increase in French clientele from 2023.

🏢 Ekkio Capital and Montefiore Investment sold their stakes in Paris Experience Group (PEG) to Groupe Aéroports de Paris (ADP). Ekkio became a shareholder in PEG in 2015, Montefiore joined in 2021 to promote sustainable tourism. Montefiore's exit is the second from their "Nov Tourisme" fund, established in 2020 post-Covid-19 tourism sector recovery. PEG, achieving €89m revenue in 2023, focuses on ESG policies including electric boats and the Noti Club, a premium service venue by the Eiffel Tower.

Une refonte complète de Thaïs PMS L’équipe Thaïs est fière d’annoncer la sortie du nouveau Thaïs PMS, l’aboutissement de 8 mois enthousiasmants de travail et de développement. Thaïs PMS reste…

🏦 The Social Hub, formerly The Student Hotel, won the Hospitality Awards in 2015 and is now B Corp certified with a score above average on its first attempt. Founded by Charlie McGregor, the hotel group operates 23 sites across Europe, offering over 1,000 rooms, as well as dining, event, and coworking spaces in 18 major cities in the UK and continental Europe. The company joins over 9,000 B Corp certified businesses globally and is among fewer than 50 in the European hospitality sector.