With the COVID-19 crisis, the hotel sector and the Hôtel de Tourny have faced a difficult context. They were looking forward to the end of the health restrictions so that they could resume normal activity. In the summer of 2021, this lift has finally arrived. As a result, the summer of 2021 was much better than the previous year. The sector then posted a 47% increase in turnover between 1 July and 21 August. This has given hope to professionals in the sector of which the Hotel Tourny is a part.
However, foreign attendance was still limited, although its absence was absorbed by French customers or those of neighbouring European countries. Thus, the Atlantic coast posted a very satisfactory occupancy rate in 2021. Indeed, according to figures from Hospitality-On, the occupancy rate in the summer of 2021 was almost 90%. In the summer of 2019, the curves were slightly lower. Enough to compensate on the one hand for the delay taken during the crisis but also to give balm to the heart of professionals in the sector. Jean-Philippe Burgeat is one of these many professionals and has carried out his activity with resilience.
Before creating the Hotel de Tourny, Jean-Philippe Burgeat worked in the Paris region, in large high-tech service companies.
A successful career, led beating drums. During which Jean-Philippe slaloms between traffic jams and planes, at the service of his customers. His wife, Sandrine, also had an equally exhilarating career in the same industry. A steady pace, while building a large and beautiful family of four children…
“Honey, we’re going to stop everything, we’re going to live in Bordeaux!”
In 2014, the desire for another rhythm of life is felt… Bordeaux is a no-brainer. In the heart of the city, Jean-Philippe is moving towards the creation of a hotel where he could enhance their sense of customer service, build a welcoming and warm environment. As he himself would have liked to discover during his many business trips.
The couple will take a year to find the perfect location, a short walk from the Place de Tourny. Then large-scale work begins, to give the place the contemporary and cozy character desired.
Since March 2015, the Hotel de Tourny has been offering travelers an independent, serious hotel. As well as a “know how to receive” that is rare: service, welcome, availability, discretion.
The Hotel has about fifteen rooms (from 118.35 € to 217.35 € per night), including 3 suites. After a first opening in March 2015, it obtained a very good ranking, quite quickly, on Booking and Trip Advisor). A 2nd building, a few steps from the first, has made it possible to enhance “Les Suites”. A very beautiful building, with stone walls, in the spirit of a mansion, with an even more personalized service.
A charming décor furnished with taste and elegance by Sandrine, who also takes care of all the administrative management of the establishment.
A resolutely modern hotel industry, centred on humans
Beyond the obvious beauty of the place and the décor, neat and “chic” in the good sense of the word, the Hôtel de Tourny is also and above all, by the very admission of Jean-Philippe, a staff who has at heart the sense of customer service, the sharing of the love of the city of Bordeaux, the know-how, the flexibility. A service resolutely focused on the human. Four day receptionists, two night receptionists, a handyman and three maids take turns for your comfort.
Beyond the staff, Jean-Philippe is also very attached to the local economy, and works as much as possible with suppliers in the immediate vicinity, such as for the bakery in particular. It is a way of actively integrating into the Bordeaux economy, while maximizing the quality potential of services, thanks to a follow-up and trusting relationships that are established.
Questioning and adapting to customers at the Hotel de Tourny
The hotel market is changing. New customer expectations, diversification of offers, including alternatives such as Air Bnb… Spontaneously, this new competition can frighten, and destabilize hoteliers. However, strictly speaking, it is a separate offer that meets different needs.
In addition, in a Bordeaux market where the influx of tourists and business trips are multiplying, it is now a question of finding “your” clientele, and doing what is necessary to continue to satisfy them every day, while adapting to their new desires, which are evolving: more freedom, more simplicity in reservations, use of mobile, need for a local welcome, need for tailor-made service…
Today, 90% of the clientele of the Hotel de Tourny, at least during the summer period, is composed of foreigners. This requires the having to offer suitable services and a keen sense of service, beyond the simple “polyglot” welcome. Outside of this summer period, the clientele is very varied: Lyonnais, Parisians, Belgians… SMEs, large groups as well as professionals (architects, accountants, lawyers, medical conferences…).
The business model of the Hotel Tourny is (also) based on digital
After the establishment of the hotel and its positioning, there is a certain “routine” on a daily basis on the actions to be carried out: the maintenance of the rooms, the reception, the concierge, the tourist information… But it doesn’t stop there. At the heart of this “boutique-hotel”, urban, design, warm, it is essential to continue to follow customers on the digital side. The Business Model in hospitality now relies on social networks and reviews on the Internet.
Customer Satisfaction is what makes us hoteliers live.
“Even if people don’t want to see anyone, these same people want to say everything and be able to do everything! We cannot ignore it, we cannot neglect them. And all this work has a direct impact on your business.” The job of today’s hotelier is (also) to communicate well.
The media communicate exclusively about price, never about the quality of services. That’s how people are educated, to negotiate on everything. We must therefore question ourselves, constantly improve ourselves and give ourselves the means of a favorable e-reputation.
Planned in the coming years? perhaps a third establishment, to develop an even more complete business offering, with sober, elegant, and technologically integrated meeting rooms. Or satisfy a more urban clientele that loves modernity and “everything online”. A vision that the Germans and the Dutch appreciate in particular: to be free to come and go, a discreet and even invisible staff, and the desire to stay “like a local”.
“Summer 2021 review: The French hotel industry is finally going through a better time” Hospitality-on, article of 25 August 2021
