Yannick Gavelle and Nicolas Dubois: ‘We want to build a French luxury hotel brand that can be exported anywhere.’

 While the global luxury hotel industry continues to grow with countless new brands and franchises, including major luxury brands, independent hoteliers and investors are looking for more flexible alternatives to the models offered by large international groups. At the intersection of branding, distribution and operational support, Yannick Gavelle and Nicolas Dubois have created two highly profitable models: the Hôtel & Préférences platform, based on the principle of affiliation, and TemptingPlaces Collection, an asset-light model based on 5-star franchising. Driven by its founders, the brand is now accelerating its international expansion, targeting Asia and especially Africa, where they have real expertise and where demand for differentiated experiential luxury continues to grow.

Why did you create Hôtel & Préférence in 2000?

Yannick Gavelle. We both came from an operational background, having managed several hotels in the Concorde group. At the time, in France, the affiliation model was dominated by major global players. We wanted to create a credible alternative for independent hoteliers who did not have the means or resources to hire a sales director, revenue manager or communications team.

The model was simple: an affordable annual membership fee of between 8,500 and 18,500 euros depending on the size of the hotel, plus a commission on the bookings generated. All business that goes through our booking centre is commissioned: booking engine installed on the hotel's website, GDS connection, visibility on our website, etc.

We really operate on an ‘à la carte’ model. Very quickly, prestigious establishments joined us — Royal Évian, Ermitage, Hôtel du Palais in Biarritz, La Trémoille Paris, and Le Westminster in Le Touquet. This laid the foundations for our premium positioning.

As we had neither a website nor a guide at the beginning, our strategy for breaking into this segment was to create a MICE/seminar unit to target large companies, particularly in Paris. A simple administrative back-and-forth on a seminar file could generate 40,000, 50,000, sometimes 100,000 euros for a hotel. This enabled us to build loyalty among prestigious establishments and develop the brand. Then, in 2006, we purchased a GDS code, which opened us up to the international market.

How many hotels do you manage today?

Yannick Gavelle. Around 140 active establishments. In 2019, we acquired Unic Boutique Hotel, a small, very high-end, experiential brand with around 30 locations. Some hotels do not carry our brand but are distributed through our systems: this flexibility is very appealing. In 2008, we chose SynXis Sabre to enable hoteliers to capture more direct bookings. Our goal is to provide hoteliers with a high-performance website, quality content, beautiful photos and high-end booking technology to maximise direct bookings and improve their margins.

We recruited an engineer with a passion for the hotel industry who joined us as an intern and now heads up our entire revenue management team. This has made a huge difference: we have become very efficient in terms of technology and digital content.

The Louvre Group acquired you in 2017. What has changed?

Yannick Gavelle. They acquired 80% of the company. We were supposed to stay for three years for the transition; eight years later, we are still here. The advantage is huge: we are backed by a solid group that owns a global purchasing centre of 15,000 hotels, which gives us phenomenal negotiating power. Since October 2017, Nicolas and I have retained 24% of the shares and are still partners within a group now owned by the Chinese Jin Jiang group.

How did TemptingPlaces Collection come about?

Yannick Gavelle. We noticed at international trade shows that the name TemptingPlaces was very popular. It was more international, more appealing, more ‘lifestyle’. We also wanted to offer a more structured model than a simple affiliation. TemptingPlaces Collection is therefore a five-star franchise with a very clear positioning: contemporary luxury, powerful experiences, French Touch. The services are much more advanced than in the affiliation: communication, marketing, branding, creative and operational support. This high-quality concept is amplified by a series of recruitments that allow us to bring real experiential added value. Our teams include a world champion barista to create signature cocktails, a world champion pastry chef to design the hotels' sweet creations, and partners in design, fragrance and music. The idea is to make life easier for hoteliers by providing them with a comprehensive and distinctive brand standard.

How does the franchise business model differ?

Yannick Gavelle. In the affiliation model, each hotel brings in around 35,000 to 40,000 euros per year between the fixed amount and the central office's commissions. In the franchise model, we take a percentage of the overall turnover — generally between 3% and 5%, sometimes more depending on the market, such as Dubai. We finance all the commercial, digital and branding aspects. The hotelier finances the physical renovation to meet our standards, i.e. a spa, a gourmet restaurant, a pastry chef, an olfactory and auditory identity, and stylistic codes. On average, the price of a night's stay varies between 500 and 800 euros, depending on the destination.

Luxury brands such as Armani, Fendi and Bulgari, among others, are increasingly establishing themselves in both resort and urban destinations. Are they significant competitors?

Yannick Gavelle. They occupy a very specific position: a few ultra-luxurious addresses in major capitals. We offer an experiential luxury that is more accessible, more cross-cutting, and suited to African capitals as well as Alpine resorts and secondary cities in Asia. There is room for an agile, French, personalised brand that combines gastronomy, design, sensoriality and operational support. That is our strength.

Africa seems to be a major area of development for you. Why?

Nicolas Dubois. It's a continent undergoing rapid transformation. We met with Franco-African expert Pierrot Simonetti, who opened incredible doors for us. The countries we visit have a strong desire to build high-end hotels. Many of these destinations have beautiful facilities, but they are poorly organised commercially. At the same time, there is a lot of money and a real trend of elites returning: Africans who have been educated and worked in the United States, the United Kingdom and Germany are coming back to invest locally. This is what I call a form of economic Black Power. Today, the interesting markets in which we are developing hotels are Côte d'Ivoire, an extremely dynamic market with a very corporate clientele. Abidjan is a stronghold: the big hotels are full, air traffic is heavy, and it's a real hub for West Africa. We already have a beautiful affiliated establishment there, Le Palais d'Aqua, a colonial house converted into a boutique hotel by a young owner. We are also developing a 5-star glamping concept, Blessinity, on the Assinie site, a bit like the local Saint-Tropez, where Africa's wealthy elite are concentrated. The project: around fifty very high-end tents, a gourmet restaurant, a spa and a private beach.

There is also Ghana. Accra is a very business-oriented capital, with many oil companies and large international corporations. The main clientele comes from the United States and Europe. We are developing a TemptingPlaces Collection hotel there, a 5-star franchise, for a very Francophile investor, a major industrialist in the import-export business. He wants to differentiate himself from the big international groups (Hilton, Marriott, etc.) with a distinct French touch, featuring a rooftop, two restaurants, a spa and MICE facilities. The same investor is developing a second project in Burkina Faso, based on the same model.

In Benin, an underrated, safe destination with a rich cultural heritage, we are studying one or two projects, including a Blessinity on the seafront, with a local investor who owns several hectares of beachfront property. In Guinea-Bissau, we are working on the takeover of a 230-room hotel by a consortium of Ivorian and Saudi investors. The hotel will be completely renovated with a view to becoming a TemptingPlaces Collection franchise. Guinea-Bissau is a future ecotourism gem with the unspoilt Bijagos archipelago.

Investors are often local, self-financed industrialists who want to structure their market. They appreciate our human approach, which respects cultures, and our hands-on expertise.

You said that your clientele in Africa is mainly corporate?

Nicolas Dubois. Yes, around 70 to 80% depending on the country. Oil, mining and logistics companies have a strong presence there. But ecotourism, beaches and culture are also starting to attract leisure customers.

What are the challenges in these markets?

Nicolas Dubois. Infrastructure and, depending on the country, security. But governments are aware of this potential and are working with private investors to create ambitious projects, including entire islands leased on a long-term basis for hotels.

What about Asia, particularly China? What is the potential there?

Nicolas Dubois. We spend a lot of time there. The Chinese are familiar with all the international brands; they are now looking for something new, more emotional, more cultural. Our French Touch approach is very appealing. Several investors have already approached us about creating complete hotel collections with them.

You have already owned a hotel. Why not do it again?

Nicolas Dubois. We had a hotel in Savoie. But day-to-day operations are a job in themselves. With 180 hotels to manage, it's simply no longer compatible. Our role today is consulting, structuring and development. That suits us better.

You have just opened a hotel in Switzerland. Do you see potential for development there?

Yannick Gavelle. We were already present there with La Cour des Augustins in Geneva. It's a unique market, very competitive in the city and very technical in the mountains. But we wanted to return, particularly with the opening of the Dent Blanche Resort in Hérémence in Valais, which is an exemplary establishment in terms of circular energy and design.

Where do you see TemptingPlaces Collection in five years' time?

Yannick Gavelle. As an international contemporary luxury brand with a strong French identity, present in Africa, Asia and Europe. We want to create a lively, human, sensory brand that helps hoteliers to structure themselves while bringing a real uniqueness. We have no limits.