Can you tell us how this project came about?

Solène Darde: I'm in charge of global sponsorship at group level, and in particular the relationship with Paris Saint-Germain. We're entering our 6th year of collaboration with Paris Saint-Germain, and we renewed our agreement 2 years ago.

We held brainstorming sessions with them to explore how we could go further to meet common objectives. The aim of the partnership is to find out how we can integrate more hotel codes and hotel experiences into the activation of the various campaigns and the use of this partnership.

We're also focusing on improving what we call the fan experience, because that has to make sense to fans too, whether it's living the event or being exposed to the communications. The idea was born in this way, allowing us to push back the boundaries. In 6 years, we've really established a solid, high-quality partnership. We're doing more and more things together, in an increasingly integrated way.

This property project was launched 2 years ago. It entailed altering the grounds and architecture of the Parc des Princes, which is owned by Paris City Council. This project therefore involved authorisations and legal and technical aspects for the construction itself and the ability to respond to this call for tenders.

There was a whole series of administrative, legal and technical processes involved in the construction itself. In the end, we built a permanent room on stilts inside the Parc des Princes, which became an integral part of the enclosure. This room is designed to remain for as long as the partnership lasts.

Nadège Keryhuel :  It also allows us to promote the Novotel brand by presenting a design concept. We have four design concepts, one of which comes from Asia and is perhaps less well known in France and Europe. This was very interesting for us, because we've been working with Solène and the teams for some time to offer unlimited experiences at Novotel.

We have adapted the Escort Kids concept, in which Novotel is a partner - a child accompanies a player onto the pitch before the start of a match. We organise days for a parent and a child, allowing them to experience unique moments. It was this that appealed to us all, not just the transformation of a hospitality suite into a room, but a truly bespoke construction.

It was also something that wasn't just there to create buzz. The Novotel Suite by ALL.com will actually remain in place for 2 years, offering a totally unique experience in an emblematic location in the city of Paris.

How are you selling this space?

SD: The Suite Novotel by ALL.com is an unforgettable experience that everyone can enjoy, thanks to competitions organised on ALL and Novotel social networks. The aim was to enable everyone, PSG fans and supporters of our brands, to experience a unique moment at the Parc des Princes. ALL members can also enjoy the Suite thanks to the Limitless Experiences. Limitless Experiences are reserved exclusively for members of the programme and give them access to a wide selection of experiences and items using their Reward points.

With this permanent structure, can you imagine promoting other concepts?

SD: Yes, because our ambition through sponsorship is to promote our ALL.com booking platform and loyalty programme, which acts as a link between all our hotel brands. We already do this in other types of activation, even if this one is emblematic.

As far as sponsorship is concerned, the aim is to integrate as many brands as possible that make sense for this audience, and more particularly hotel consumers interested in football or PSG. We're already in this phase of launching operations and we'll continue to write the Novotel story through ALL.

All options are possible, within the framework of the contract and the operation of this venue.

Having done all this work for 2 years, do you plan to capitalise on it and approach other sports venues to propose a similar approach?

SD: Of course, we're keeping an eye on all these trends.

The real difference with this product is that there were seats with reduced visibility that were eliminated to build this structure. So far, what exists are mainly box seats: you take out everything that's inside, you put it back down, you put in a bed and you launch the campaign. Often, these activations are temporary and this is what we see a lot of in the so-called Entertainment complexes. You build the major venue, the smaller venue, the shopping centre, the food court, all these spaces. These very large property developments are not limited to France. There may be hotels integrated into part of the stadium, and the hotel offer may include rooms with a view of the stadium, but this is built in from the outset of the development.

Of course, this makes a lot of sense, even if from an activation point of view, we could challenge ourselves more. After all, these were very large operations, and they can't be replicated ad infinitum. You need the right partner and the right location. There's a whole range of factors that made the Novotel Suite at the Parc des Princes project last 2 years, and we're very proud of it.

If it makes sense, we're ready to do it again. However, given the current state of affairs and our portfolio of partnerships, I'm not sure that this will be our immediate priority. For the moment, there's no project on this scale or with this kind of mechanism in the pipeline. 

How does the overnight stay work?

NK: We're capitalising on the fact that the Novotel is the closest to the Parc des Princes, so it's an experience that starts before the match, to show that there's more to a hotel experience than just an overnight stay.  We have a butler working with us, who welcomes guests to the newly refurbished Novotel de Suresnes and accompanies them to the Parc des Princes. They enter through the stadium's main door on a red carpet, and even pass through the players' corridor to get closer to the pitch. They then take the lifts up to the suite, which is built on the highest level of the Parc des Princes. They are served a buffet of food and drink throughout the match by this butler. This space is adjacent to another hospitality area, the ALL.com bar, for which we have the naming rights and which we redesigned last year with PSG. Guests can either have a nightcap in this space or in their suite. They spend their night in the traditional way, while living the experience of sleeping in an empty stadium!

In the morning, groundkeeper Jonathan Calderwood can be seen tending the pitch.  The stadium is empty, the butler arrives and brings breakfast. And once they're ready, guests round off the experience with an exclusive tour of the Parc des Princes, where they can see the pitch, changing rooms and other hospitality areas, with a few explanations and anecdotes. This tour concludes the experience.

As for Novotel, do you have any other projects of this scale in the pipeline?

NK: We're working on other projects with Solène that will see the light of day next year. It's still a bit early to talk about them, but we're always looking for innovations, especially for Novotel.
This pioneering spirit has always been in the brand's DNA. This year, in June, we announced a very strong commitment by the brand to preserving the oceans. We have joined forces with the WWF for this cause.
This is important to us. Novotel, like Accor, is very committed to sustainable development. We've always been innovative in the field of design, but this time we really wanted to make a strong commitment with a 3-year plan to reduce plastics, reduce our carbon footprint, and help with conservation by sponsoring projects in Europe and elsewhere.

Not many hotel brands of our size are committed to this. Some actions are carried out at individual hotels. Sustainable development is nothing new for the hospitality industry, but on this scale, it's an ambitious plan. We are not perfect, but we are committed to improving certain things with the help of the WWF, which provides us with technical support.

WWF doesn't partner with just anyone. They carried out an audit at the outset, which is important to note because they have a line to walk with those who support them. WWF was already involved in actions with us, and methodologies, frameworks and certifications were already in place at corporate level.

SD: As part of this drive to reduce our carbon footprint, we decided in our strategy to determine which brand would have the biggest impact. To do this, we determine where we have room for improvement in relation to operations, by country... This is where Novotel came into its own.

So we're not talking about sponsorship as such, because as Nadège mentioned, there was an audit, and so on. Rather, we are looking to improve the way we operate across the entire hotel value chain.

We are partnering with Paris Saint-Germain, the Accor Arena, Roland Garros etc. to let people know what Novotel does, rather than looking for expertise. We also have other types of CSR commitments with our partners.

My service is a marketing lever that comes at the end of the process to echo what the brand is doing.

What will you take away from these two years of work?

SD:  It's quite remarkable, for sponsorship partners, to go so far with a strategy. It took a lot of effort to achieve this, so it's worth noting. There will be a Chapter 2. The suite is made to last in the history of Novotel and sponsorship. Perhaps there will be a return match. So we'll be talking soon, I hope.

In B-to-B, we're always trying to push the boundaries in terms of innovation and exclusivity. There are expectations about the need to push back the boundaries of what we are capable of offering in terms of a truly hotel experience, with something that is also very strong in terms of branding.

Behind that, we have all the logistics to ensure that it remains a hotel room with breakfast, with the products you expect and a special welcome because it's a unique product.