SAN catches up with Cyril Vaussard, managing director of Louvre Hotels Group’s new aparthotel brand Tulip Residences.
• Please give us some background in to your career in hospitality
“After attending the Vatel hotel school in Paris, I started my career in the Parisian four-star hotel industry as a management controller, then I participated in the development of an urban aparthotel network for four years. In 1998, I co-founded the independent network Hôtels & Préférence (which has 150 four- and five- star hotel members) where I specialised in b2b marketing. Hôtels & Préférence was sold in 2017 to Louvre Hotels Group. In 2018, I joined Louvre to develop a new lifestyle aparthotel concept.”
• How did the Tulip Residences brand come about and did the pandemic contribute to the launch being brought forward due to demand for self-contained accommodation?
“Having been absent from the aparthotel market for several years, Louvre Hotels Group wanted to develop an innovative project. After a period of research and development, it was decided in 2019 to launch the Tulip Residences/Tulip Café concept and to open its first establishment in 2020. Due to the Covid and the accumulated delays the first Tulip Residences opened this month.”
• Tell us about the brand standards and what will differentiate it from competitors
“We require a minimum three-star classification and a minimum footprint of 21 square metres for the studios, with the kitchen in the corridor. We require the installation of a Tulip Café on the ground floor and attractive common areas. The investor has to respect our mood board with the possibility to adapt the FF&E according to local standards. What differentiates us from our competitors is our ‘All in one’ concept: an aparthotel associated with a Tulip Coffee, with relaxation and coworking areas.”
• Will Tulip Residences be suitable for new-builds and conversions?
“Yes, Tulip Residences is suitable for new construction as well as old aparthotels in the context of a renovation. For the conversion of hotels it depends on the footprint of the rooms available, and whether they can adapt to the installation of a small kitchen. We are also thinking about the conversion of office buildings when the structure of the building allows it.”
• You have an ambitious roll out plan, with a target of 30 properties in Europe and 25 in China over the next few years. Will these be a mix of owned, managed and franchised hotels?
“Our development is ambitious, and we wish to operate in three segments: 60 per cent in franchise, 20 per cent in management and 20 per cent in lease.”
• Are you seeing a trend for long stays across the Louvre brand portfolio?
“We are currently seeing a trend in occupancy for average stays between two weeks and four weeks for business or family stays.”
• What do you anticipate your ratio of business to leisure travelers will be for Tulip Residences?
“We are thinking of a split of 60 per cent for business customers and 40 per cent for leisure customers.”
