
Alexis Boudran, Development Director at Pierre & Vacances, explains the strategies that the pioneering tourist residence group has adopted to remain the leader in its market.
What image did you have of Pierre & Vacances when you arrived?
I've been with Pierre & Vacances for 18 months now and I'm in charge of development. Like many of you, I was familiar with the brand, but perhaps I had a few preconceptions. I didn't necessarily have an image of all its qualities, which I went on to discover bit by bit as I went through Pierre & Vacances' portfolio. There are far more residences than I could have imagined, around 200, and I had arrived at a very strong but somewhat ageing brand. I realised that a change of direction had been initiated for the brand, consisting of a move upmarket, extremely high-quality locations, and, above all, an impressive number of different offers.
Your job is to initiate development for the group alongside certain profiles of players, customers, and owners. What impact has this transformation had on your work?
I joined a company that was very much associated with the profile of a developer. Pierre et Vacances has been in business for 55 years; the company was founded in 1967 in Avoriaz. Today, the company has turned a corner. We are almost 100% operators. And so, as Development Director, my job is to make it known that Pierre & Vacances is first and foremost an operator, to fit it into this profile with leaseholds, which is new today. I've had developers who didn't call me because they thought we were competitors. We lease new sites.
Pierre & Vacances operates on the coast and in the mountains. We deal exclusively in leisure and are also asset-light, with management and franchise contracts.
So these are new businesses with an emphasis on CSR. What impact will this have on you?
Yes, absolutely. When Franck Gervais arrived, two years ago now...
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