Focus on lifestyle hotels: our students meet Serge Trigano, co-founder of Mama Shelter

Serge Trigano, co-founder of the famous lifestyle hotel chain Mama Shelter, came to meet our students during the latest digital career talk, an event that offers opportunities for our students to meet and discuss with leading professionals from the sector.

At Institut Paul Bocuse, we organise numerous events to encourage interaction between our students and leading professionals from the hospitality, food service and culinary arts professions. The “Career Talks”, currently converted into a digital format, enable our students to regularly discover the careers of leading figures representing our professions and to learn about developments in the sector.

This month, they had the privilege of taking part in a conference-debate led by Serge Trigano, whose incredible career has taken him from the management of Club Med to the foundation of the famous lifestyle hotel chain Mama Shelter.

From Club Méditerranée to Mama Shelter… a true success story

Serge Trigano is the former director of Club Méditerranée, a company that pioneered a new post-war vacation model involving food service, accommodation and leisure activities based on the key innovations of the time: the all-inclusive formula, sports holidays, and the buffet-style restaurant concept.

A venue with a hip but relaxed atmosphere where everyone feels at home

In the 2000s, he took a crazy gamble alongside his sons Benjamin and Jérémie. Wanting to reinvent the hotel concept, he founded Mama Shelter, an accommodation and restaurant venue where everyone feels at home in a hip but relaxed setting. A gamble that paid off! Mama Shelter is today one of the leaders in the Lifestyle hotel business.

At Mama Shelter, the central idea is to bring “energy into a venue”, to encourage guests to interact with each other. This results in a very friendly spirit, a clear link between the hospitality offer and the food service offer, set in a distinctive layout designed by Philippe Starck, a famous architect. The success of Mama Shelter comes from innovation and diversification: a reception area organised just like a luxury hotel concierge service, the Bar in the centre of the complex, Sunday brunch, co-working spaces that adapt to the needs of guests… The Mama Shelter is built around a business model of “reinvented luxury” that is accessible to all. With 1,200 staff employed in 13 establishments, the Group continues its international development by maintaining the Mama Shelter DNA for each new hotel project, adapted to the specific local characteristics of the country.

What if lifestyle hotels were one of the futures of the sector?

In the opinion of Serge Trigano, the lifestyle hotel business is not “a passing trend” but a real and lasting movement, catering to clients who are above all looking to enjoy an experience and to trigger their emotions. For him, the themes of environment and security will also be two strong components determining the success of tomorrow’s hotel packages.

His main advice for students: “Start from the basics to understand our businesses and our markets. And above all, don’t be afraid to take risks and embark on the adventure that truly inspires you”.

Are you also inspired by the idea of breaking away from convention?

Serge Trigano’s incredible career has particularly inspired our students who, for many of them, wish one day to become great entrepreneurs too!

Just like them, do you want to take on such a venture one day?

Our Bachelor’s degree in International Hospitality Management will prepare you for a varied and exciting career in hotel management or in the development of new accommodation concepts or models.
If you are already qualified to undergraduate level, our 4th year Lifestyle Hospitality Management specialisation will allow you to develop your expertise in the hospitality lifestyle segment.

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