François De Laveaucoupet, Development Director, IHG France and Miguel Andrade, PHC Hotels, Portuguese Hospitality Collection discussed about the key role that play conversions in the hospitality industry. The Vignette Collection, an IHG conversion brand, is at the heart of this exchange with the example of the Convent Square Lisbon, Vignette Collection property.
François De Laveaucoupet : Today we are going to talk about conversions, with a focus on luxury area. We can wonder why this topic. As we heard earlier, it is definitely a trendy one for many reasons, such as sustainability, changing travel trends and the slowdown in new constructions.
All these reasons led to IHG creating a conversion brand for each of the segment it is involved in, from midscale all the way up to upscale and luxury. Over 35% of our signings and openings this year in Europe are conversion.
We will explore the key drivers and discuss in more details why the conversion has become a good option for investors, operators and owners. But also how as franchisers we can support you during all the process, from planning all the way up to opening.
Miguel Andrade : We had a very good opportunity when we were planning to open the Convent Square Lisbon, Vignette Collection, back in the beginning of 2022. Our main challenge was how we could place this product in the luxury segment. We had a fantastic operation with a very good building in the city centre of Lisbon. It is a building from the 13th century.
We had all the tools to create a very nice and luxury product. We went to the marketplace to see with international brand if we can add value, not only in terms of guest experience but above all in terms of global distribution and product standards.
We then identified The Vignette Collection, it was the brand which can give us the right tools to maintain our identity and to place the product in the luxury segment. Since the opening in August, we have the full support of the company in terms of design as well as life and safety...
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