IHIF In Conversation With: Gregory Lanter, Chief Development & Construction Officer and Member of Club Med Executive Committee, Club Med.
Q. What is the business focus for Club Med in 2020?
Club Med will continue to develop the strategy that it has implemented in recent years:
• International expansion: open three to five resorts per year worldwide. Major upcoming openings in 2020 include Club Med Seychelles on Sainte Anne Island and Club Med La Rosière in the French Alps.
• Mountain leadership: reinforce our global mountain leadership during winter and summer with the opening of at least one new or renovated resort in the mountain per year. Exciting ski projects worldwide include Club Med Quebec Charlevoix (opening in 2021) and three new ski resort in China by 2022: Changbaishan in one of the most popular ski destinations in Northern China, a major extension of Club Med Beidahu and Club Med Thaiwoo on the Beijing 2022 Olympic Games site.
• Upscale positioning: accelerate the development of our Club Med Exclusive Collection range and deliver upscale and new experiences. Club Med Seychelles, on the private island of Sainte Anne, will be the latest addition to the brand's Exclusive Collection.
• Happy digital: pursue the investment in “Happy digital” to simplify the holidays of our clients in our Resorts and the daily job of our resorts teams. Club Med has innovated in digital topics with milestones such as new mobile APP “My Happy Days” to facilitate customer path. We intend to pursue this strategy with new digital services focused on improving the experience before and after our client’s stays.
• Growth in China: China is an important business focus; in 2019, Club Med and the Ecole du Ski Francais (ESF, French Ski School) have joined forces to open a premium skiing and snowboarding school on the Chinese slopes. We intend to develop 20 new more academies in the 3 coming years. Alongside this partnership, Club Med will develop four new resorts in China by 2021 with the support of our shareholder Fosun (Changbaishan, Beidahu and Thaiwoo as mentioned above, and Lijiang in beautiful Yunnan).
Q. What was the greatest achievement for Club Med in 2019?
Club Med continuing its development and upgrading with the opening of six new resorts in 2019. First, in the French Alps with the complete transformation into a 4T resort of Club Med Alpe d'Huez and the opening of 22 chalets-apartments at Grand Massif Samoëns next to the Club Med Resort opened two years ago. Our acceleration in China continues with the opening of our seventh resort and the third under the Joyview brand in Yanqing Beijing, located 1h30 from Beijing and 40 minutes from the Great Wall.
In Japan, Club Med achieved the renovation of its ski resort in Sahoro-Hokaido. America is also on the agenda with the opening of our very first Club Med Exclusive Collection and eco-chic resort in the Americas: Club Med Miches Playa Esmeralda, in the Dominican Republic. And finally, the major refurbishment and extension of Club Med La Caravelle, in the French West Indies, by the heavenly beach of Sainte-Anne.
The Club Med Spirit
The story of Club Med began almost 70 years ago when Gérard Blitz, inspired by the philosophy that all humans are meant to be happy, created the first all-inclusive resort to offer vacations free of constraints. In this holiday haven, our Great Members (« GMs ») were finally able to enjoy each other’s friendly company and the incredible environment surrounding them.
A unique concept
Our unique and premium all-inclusive concept ensures a feeling of serenity and opens the door to a unique lifestyle featuring incredible locations, superb accommodation, gourmet meals, a premium open bar, professional holiday childcare for all ages, and a wide range of sports and activities. This way, whether our guests travel to the beaches of the Maldives to the jungles of Malaysia, they enjoy total peace of mind, unparalleled freedom, and endless adventure in our 70 Resorts worldwide.
An international brand
Our philosophy travels the world as we open resorts in the most beautiful places on Earth.
70 resorts in 24 countries
€1.67bn annual revenue
1.44 million customers among which 39% from fast development countries
100 nationalities represented in our GO teams
A diversified clientele from 116 countries around the world: families, couples, friends and business
An international brand awareness (Europe, USA, Brazil, China, Russia, etc.)
Searching for new destinations
Club Med continues to grow and expand its business in traditional and new markets. It particularly aims at consolidating its position in Europe but it also focuses on developing into emerging markets such as Asia, Africa and Middle-East. In the next 3 years, Club Med will open more than 15 new resorts worldwide and will focus on asserting its position of world specialist in all-inclusive, premium, convivial and multicultural holidays. Follow Club Med’s developments at www.clubmeddevelopment.com.
Club Med are Patron Sponsors of IHIF and will be attending IHIF where the world’s most dynamic, forward thinking and disruptive leaders gather to shape the future of hospitality investment. To learn more about the event and join other influential players, visit www.ihif.com.