Hospitality Today Winter 2020 (#40) | Page 12

12 | Hospitality Today | Winter 2020 Meet in Monte Carlo HT Editor David Weston investigates what the European capital of glamour offers conference, event and incentive travel organisers, after a vast investment by SBM in ‘One Monte Carlo’ For organisers of conferences, events and product launches, the attraction of the destination itself can add real value. However fascinating your conference schedule may be, delegates may not book (and speakers may be harder to find) for an event in a boring or unattractive location. So Monaco starts with a massive plus point: who would turn down an invitation to Monte Carlo? In most people’s minds, the second smallest country in the world (after the Vatican) is the epitome of glamour: not only promising 300 days a year of Riviera sunshine but superyachts, the Casino frequented by James Bond, the world’s most beautiful and exciting Grand Prix circuit – and over it all the stardust of both Royalty and Hollywood. “This place has to be about dreams, enjoyment, and beauty” said François Blanc, founder of Monte-Carlo Société des Bains de Mer (SBM), which owns and runs the Casino and Sporting Club as well as the Hotel de Paris (opposite the Casino and boasting four Michelin stars), the Hotel Hermitage (its sister five-star palace, with stupendous views over the harbour), the Monte Carlo Bay hotel, and the Monte Carlo Beach Hotel. The SBM (now mainly owned by the Principality, with some private investors including luxury brands conglomerate LVMH with 5%) has recently invested heavily in “One Monte Carlo”, super-luxury residences on Casino Square with a new conference centre underneath which opened on June 2019. HT inspected the conference facilities and the SBM hotels where delegates would stay. With 1,445 m2 of space dedicated to all kinds of events (meetings, cocktails, gala dinners, product launches, etc.), nine rooms from 48 to 301 m2, an 80-seat auditorium and its immediate proximity to Hotel Hermitage, Hotel de Paris and Café de Paris, the One Monte-Carlo conference centre has created a new business tourism hub around the historic Place du Casino.