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🎰 French physical casinos and the Fédération Addiction triggered a government decision to scrap an amendment for legalizing online casinos in France from the 2025 budget proposal. The amendment, filed last Saturday, aimed to permit online casinos by ordinance—a unique ban in the EU, shared only with Cyprus, while proposing a tax framework. Casinos de France expressed approval in a Sunday statement.

🏖 Arival's study surveyed over 7,000 tour operators worldwide, including France and Belgium. 80% of the industry consists of SMEs with fewer than 10,000 clients annually. 40% of operators lack a modern booking system, potentially hindering growth. From 2010 to 2023, the average number of resellers dropped from 11 to 4, while OTA market share rose from 25% to 41%. Operators' revenues are expected to exceed pre-pandemic levels by 2024, despite uneven recovery and inflation impacting Europe's summer 2024. In 2025, 43% plan to raise prices, down from 53% the previous year.

🏨 H2C's annual report surveyed 3885 hotels revealing a market shift towards direct and mobile bookings. Direct online bookings in the hotel sector normalized post-pandemic, with a significant 29% share in 2022, decreasing to 19% in 2019 and slightly rising to 21% in 2023. Mobile traffic accounted for 36% of direct online revenues five years ago, reaching 42% in the previous year. Only 25% of tourism businesses have embraced digital transformation, and a mere 12% consider themselves at the forefront of digital technologies. Despite this, 60% of tourism operators plan digital projects in 2025, the year when online bookings in Europe surpassed offline, with 60% for leisure and 40% for business travel.

🔔 Inno'Tourism, France's leading show on hotel innovation, features Patrick d’Altelis discussing "livie", a chatbot transforming customer service. The episode reveals anecdotes, integration of Google Maps with AI predictive technology, and a new game-changing feature. It aims to help hoteliers outperform competitors, enhance customer loyalty, and step into the AI era. Viewers are encouraged to subscribe and contact Patrick for a personalized demo at 06 08 33 16 93 or [email protected]. Interview by Tony Loeb, sponsored content.

🏂 Ski vacations are costly due to increasing prices for accommodation, lift passes, and ski gear. Mid-mountain resorts offer lower rates than large Alpine domains and are family-friendly. G2A Consulting noted a rise in January (+4%) and March (+2%) booking intentions for winter 2025, compared to 2023, outside school holidays. Choices range from apartments to 5-star hotels, with amenities like pools and wellness areas. With climate change affecting snowfall, resorts diversify activities beyond skiing to optimize year-round occupancy and appeal to summer tourists. Sustainable practices and labels like Flocon Vert and Nordic France are influencing French tourists' decisions.

🏠 Edgar Suites announces a new high-end aparthotel opening on December 1st in Cannes, close to the Croisette and the Palais des Festivals. The former Hôtel de France on Rue d'Antibes will be transformed into 10 fully-equipped apartments ranging from 40 to 90 m², spread over six floors, equivalent to 34 hotel rooms. The residence will feature a duplex Penthouse with sauna, jacuzzi, and a 150 m² rooftop offering panoramic city and sea views. Facilities include 5-star hotel amenities like premium bedding and a 24/7 digital reception.

🏨 Arnaud Maisonobe's group Macé purchased land from the state where Boucan-Canot hotel is located, securing its future after 40 years of management. The coastal hotel's emphyteutic lease was nearing its end, prompting the sale of approximately 8,500 m². The financial details of the transaction are confidential.

🚿 Cosy Hotels, facing a staff shortage, trained 10 new arrivals through local partnerships; 9 graduated, 4 joined the team. A 4-month training program was created after a 30,000 euro loss in 2021 due to staffing issues. The 80,000 euro training cost was shared by the region, La Rochelle's agglomeration, and the hotel group.

📈 The Luxe & Lifestyle (L&L) division reported a 7% increase in Revenue per Available Room (RevPAR) in Q3 2023, driven by occupancy rates. The Luxury segment, comprising 73% of the division's accommodation revenue, saw a 5% RevPAR growth in Q3 2023. Lifestyle segment RevPAR grew by 14% in Q3 2023, boosted by resort hotels, especially in Turkey and Egypt. Premium, Mid-range, and Economy (PM&E) division also experienced a 5% RevPAR increase in Q3 2023. Overall, RevPAR rose by 5.3% from July to September, surpassing the forecast of 5.2%. In Q3 2024, Accor opened 47 hotels with 8,000 rooms, marking a 3.2% net growth over 12 months. As of September 2024, Accor has 838,826 rooms (5,638 hotels) and a pipeline of 231,000 rooms (1,380 hotels).

🍽 Le Selman Marrakech collabore avec le Chef multi-étoilé Jean-François Piège pour réinventer sa terrasse, nommée "La Terrasse par Jean-François Piège". L'espace élégant, pouvant accueillir jusqu'à 80 personnes, est ouvert de midi à minuit et fusionne l'élégance de l'hôtel avec le savoir-faire culinaire de Piège. La terrasse offre un cadre méditerranéen au cœur de Marrakech, idéal pour diverses occasions de repas et de détente.