Interview with Estelle Giraudeau, Managing Director Club Med UK & Northern Europe.
Club Med is one of our RENT-A-RESORT COLLECTION partners and the top-brand for resort buyouts.
The tourism industry is seeing light at the end of the tunnel with the first countries opening up their borders and airlines planning to restart routes in the coming weeks. What does that mean for Club Med from an operational point of view?
It goes without saying that the health and safety of both our guests and our employees is our top priority and we have put a lot of effort into the development and implementation of the hygiene concept. While adhering to a modern hygiene and safety concept, we are also pleased to be able to reopen our resorts piece by piece. Of course, we place a special focus on the facilities in Europe and the medium-haul sector in order to meet our guests’ wishes for the highest possible level of planning and travel security, but the destinations in the farther reaches are also gradually opening their doors. Many of our guests are attracted to the most exotic and remote places and we would like to make their dream journey come true as soon as possible.
Which safety measures have been put in place for the re-opening of your resorts? You recently published this video but could you say a few words about what this means for MICE in the post-Corona period?
We implement a wide range of measures in our facilities to ensure the safety and health of our guests and employees. Especially in the MICE sector, for example, we have reduced capacities, which ensures that we provide sufficient space for safety and comfort zones in the extensive facilities. This allows us to exclusively rent out resorts for small and medium-sized groups, which are normally intended for a larger number of guests.
In addition, we split the evening and sports programme, for example, and offer a variety of options so that guests can be distributed optimally. Of course, groups also benefit from this, because we have the perfect program for everyone and the selection is even more diverse than usual.
Talking about MICE and buyouts which is RENT-A-RESORT’s key business: We want to make sure that our clients will be able to book buyouts of Club Med Resorts again by taking away their worries of losing their money should the situation get worse again. How flexible are you in this unstable situation and are there any “special booking conditions” you can promise our clients to prove them that this is the right moment to get back to business and send groups to Club Med Resorts.
Of course, we see the uncertainties that these times bring. We and other tourist service providers are also exposed to risks that we cannot currently estimate, but we firmly believe that travel requests can and should be implemented again in the medium term. We are ready to offer individually tailored solutions for each customer in order to find a workable compromise together and to give everyone involved enough freedom to react correctly to the respective conditions and, if necessary, changes. Together we can make the best of the situation and look ahead to a successful future together.
Thanks Estelle! We are looking forward to working with you again very soon!