Special RepoRt : Leadership
Guestroom at Mama Shelter Bordeaux to their “ urban Club Med ” offshoot . Their aim is take Gilbert Trigano ’ s game-changing concept from escapist retreats to real-world city centers . “ We believe that with passion , love and work there is no limit to what we can change ,” says Jérémie . “ Once we saw people taking shorter , more urban vacations , we imagined that , between the super palaces everybody dreams about but few can afford and the big hotels chains that can tend to be dull , we could create a place where our guests could come to have a drink , a diner or spend a night in an eclectic atmosphere at a reasonable price ,” Serge adds .
Tempting as it might be to label the flag as a vanity project — albeit it an ultrasuccessful one , Mama Shelter is clearly a business proposition . Sure , Serge learned his trade at his father ’ s knee , but Jérémie and Benjamin brought in lessons from far outside the hotel industry . “ I worked in finance and marketing ,” says Jérémie . “ In both jobs , I had great bosses who pushed me to be thorough and give as much attention to macro as to micro elements .” Benjamin ’ s other day job is as a gallery owner in Los Angeles . “ We came into the urban hotel industry with fresh eyes ,” he says .
From the beginning , those eyes were firmly trained not just on creating a cool concept , but giving the business legs in a crowded market . “ One of my biggest mentors is my godfather , Alexandre Chemla ,” Jérémie says . “ He taught me to be pragmatic , ROI-centric and able to make decisions quickly . These are my guidelines for running the company . That pragmatism got the attention of Accor , whose 35 % stake in Mama Shelter gave the family the tools to dream bigger .”
He points out that Mama Shelter will makes its premiere in Los Angeles in May 2015 . Also in the works are a hotel in Lille and a second location in Paris . Projects are also set to open in Mexico City , London , Amsterdam , Barcelona , New York and Hamburg . “ With the new Accor partnership , there is a potential to transform around 20 existing addresses in major capital cities into Mama Shelter . We are not only focusing on Europe and America . We have projects in Asia and South America ,” Serge says .
www . hotelsmag . com April 2015 HOTELS 25