Graduate insight with Jeanne Jouvet
Faire défiler la pageJeanne Jouvet is a young graduate of Institut Lyfe with boundless ambition and energy. A graduate of the Bachelor’s Degree in International Hospitality and Restaurant Management with a Lifestyle specialisation (now Design and Marketing for Hotel Brands), she has just opened her first establishment: Pantoufle Hôtels, in Marsanne. Ready to enter a world of lazing and letting it all go?
Can you tell us about your career path since leaving the institute?
The year 2023 marked a pivotal stage in my career: completing my course in July, starting my graduation placement in September, and in December discovering an advertisement for a hotel for sale in Drôme Provençale, my native region.
I completed my final placement at the Tribe Lyon Croix-Rousse alongside Adrienne Giraud, a former student of Institut Lyfe and now the hotel’s director. This experience was particularly enriching, because I actively participated in the opening of the establishment and in the implementation of a range of processes. For six months, I had the opportunity to work across different sectors such as communication, housekeeping, food service, administration, as well as the coordination of the various departments.
It was during my placement that I came across an advertisement for the sale of a hotel in my home region. After several visits, the place had really won me over, a feeling that has only grown stronger.
At the end of this placement, an essential question arose: what would be my first role to launch my career? Coming from a family of entrepreneurs, I have always harboured the ambition of creating my own project, a place that reflects who I am, where I could fully flourish.
So I decided to embark on the entrepreneurial path by taking over this hotel in Marsanne, with a long-term vision: to create a unique hotel brand, located in charming villages, far from the hustle and bustle of big cities, offering a more intimate and authentic experience.
For me, this project represents much more than a simple investment: it’s a return to my roots and the culmination of a deeply personal ambition. Today, I’m completely dedicated to this exciting challenge, with the objective of developing a hospitality concept that combines charm, conviviality and immersion in the local art of living.
What inspired you to create Pantoufle Hôtels?
The inspiration behind Pantoufle Hôtels came from a simple question: what would I like to find when I stay at a hotel? I began putting my ideas on paper, imagining a place where comfort, calm, authenticity, discretion and exceptional care would be at the heart of the experience. A place where you can slow down, escape daily pressures and impersonal hotels. I wanted to create a small hidden haven of peace, where you feel at ease, almost like at home.
Using the methods learned during my studies, I developed this idea by carrying out several studies on the hotel industry and traveller expectations. Then, with the incredible team that I have supporting me on this project, we started brainstorming the name for this future hotel.
That’s when our first key word emerged: “lazing”. It aligned well with the idea of slowing down and well-being, but I wanted something more vibrant, more personal, with a touch of mischief. Then, during a conversation, the word “Pantoufle” (meaning slipper) came up … and bingo! It was exactly the identity I was looking for: a warm, quirky and evocative name, which perfectly represents the spirit of the place.
How would you describe the DNA and concept of this new hotel brand?
The DNA of this establishment was born from a deep desire to create a place that reflects who I am, where you feel great, while being immersed in an authentic and soothing setting.
With Pantoufle Hôtels, my goal is to offer an experience far from the hustle and bustle of big cities, in characterful villages where time seems to stand still. I want to create places where you come to recharge, where comfort and simplicity are combined with a friendly and authentic atmosphere. Through this project, I aspire to develop a hotel brand that values local territories, heritage, and a gentler lifestyle in harmony with its environment.
Pantoufle Hôtels is above all an invitation to slow down, enjoy the moment and rediscover the pleasure of simple things.
Entrepreneurship at the heart of learning at Institut Lyfe
Jeanne Jouvet’s story perfectly illustrates how Institut Lyfe supports its students far beyond technical expertise. Her journey demonstrates the full scope of our educational approach focused on action, autonomy and creativity.
By choosing to create Pantoufle Hôtels, Jeanne hasn’t simply founded a hotel: she has conceived a living space, an experience, an establishment that reflects her sensitivity, her standards and her vision of the hospitality profession.
These approaches aren’t plucked from thin air: they are built and developed in an educational environment that values experimentation and encourages taking risks.
Because at Institut Lyfe, entrepreneurship isn’t just another subject, it’s rooted in the DNA of our school: learning to identify opportunities, structure ideas, mobilise the right resources and above all, daring to take action. Daring to launch a concept, to defend an idea, to forge your own path.
Through dedicated modules, concrete projects, specialisations such as the 4th year course in Restaurant and Hospitality Business Management and Entrepreneurship, encounters with inspiring professionals and personalised support, Institut Lyfe makes entrepreneurship a powerful lever for development and transformation. And success stories like Jeanne’s are the most rewarding demonstration of this.