Interview with Carole Vuillerme, Sales Manager – Lake Geneva Area
ASTM: Good afternoon Carole, thanks for finding time for the ASTM. As a fairly new player in the Swiss market can you summarize for our readers the concept of Appart’City and help us understand “who you are”.
Carole: But of course, it is my pleasure to do so. With more than 100 apart-hotels representing 13,000 apartments, Appart'City is in the heart of the large urban areas and cities of France, Belgium and Switzerland. Our offer ranges from 2 to 4-star properties. We are set up for both business and leisure stays. The concept of Appart'City is very simple: we offer our guests the comfort of an apartment with the choice of hotel services, for one night, a week or more.
ASTM: How have you been dealing with this very difficult health crisis at Appart’City?
Carole: Like many companies in the hotel and tourism sector, our apart-hotels in Switzerland, France and Belgium had to close their doors for several weeks in spring. Since June, we have gradually reopened a large part of our apart-hotels and our teams welcome their guests with all the necessary health precautions and in strict compliance with the health protocol planned by Appart’City. This of course is strictly following the recommendations of the official authorities. For a peaceful stay, specific welcome measures have been put in place throughout the customer experience. Many hotel services have been redesigned, with even more flexibility given to our guests. You can see the welcome measures in our apart-hotels currently open, for a peaceful stay: WATCH THE VIDEO
ASTM: Do you have any other product updates that might be of interest to our members?
Carole: Generally we see that people need space and the freedom to move around. The impact of the health crisis has turned everyday life upside down and we see that a number of new behaviors are emerging: reinforced telecommuting, "homemade" cooking, small committee meetings, etc. At Appart'City we are giving a lot of attention to these changes in order to best meet the needs of our guests.
Our apartments are on average 27 sqm, compared to 15 sqm for a classic hotel room. They offer an office space, with very high speed Wi-Fi. Each apartment has a fully equipped kitchen, to which our guests can add a choice of typical hotel services. Our products are particularly adapted to the situation since they allow, thanks to the kitchen in particular, professional trips in complete safety, by offering an alternative which facilitates the respect of social distancing. In addition, we offer very flexible cancellation conditions.
Thanks for this update, Carole!
