The InTervIew
A view into Le Bristol ’ s penthouse terrace
Epicure has been extended to include a view of Le Bristol ’ s legendary gardens . think about employees , and as it turned out the first night 40 employees stayed in the hotel as it was not secure for them to go home .
In an event like that , people stretch in a remarkable fashion . There were so many people doing what they could to help . It feels very good to be associated with this organization during a difficult situation with an exceptional response .
Then we made a statement by making a decision to shop and go to the theater , that those terrorists who behave in such a barbarian way are not going to overcome us . H : How did contemporaries reach out ? DLC : I felt a lot of support . Anyone who has been involved in something like this can relate . People inquired about family and then the hotel . It becomes very personal . People I have not heard from in 20 years suddenly sent brief lines , and that makes a big difference .
H : Paris has recently absorbed a lot of new luxury inventory , and The Ritz returns very soon . Are you concerned about oversupply ?
DLC : When I re-opened George V in 1998- 1999 , I said Paris had under-capacity . We have 80 to 90 days where the city is sold out , which isn ’ t bad . We have new inventory and the timing is not great , but when you look purely in terms of rooms , it is not too bad , either . We have a 50 % increase in room inventory and The Ritz ( coming back in Q1 ) is marginal , with just 120 keys . The Ritz is also a direct competitor , so that worries me as I know they will do a very fine job and it is a very similar style of hotel . But the market has absorbed the new inventory , and in 2016 only The Ritz comes back online as The Crillon is further delayed to 2017 .
We were having a very good third quarter of 2015 , having recovered from the new inventory and incident of January . Now we have been set back . We do have the capacity and it will be more difficult for a few years , but this will be resolved .
H : You have invested € 170 million in Le Bristol over the past six years . What has been the most effective investment ?
DLC : We extended our spa on the first floor and Epicure ( fine dining restaurant ) into the garden . We have redone every suite and there
34 HOTELS January / February 2016 www . hotelsmag . com