Wonderful Eiffel Tower view and kitchen garden

More iconic than Airbnb. In the days leading up to the opening of the 2024 Paris Olympics, a few rooms were still available at this peaceful, bucolic haven with a view of the Eiffel Tower. La Reine Margot, an MGallery hotel, the best spot at the time to have a front-row seat and discover Paris and its magic? The organizer of ECTFF, the Customer Experience Forum, invited readers to find out.

Meeting Camille Devaux, general manager of a secret estate

...one that won't stay under the radar for long: the Domaine de la Reine Margot. We probably shouldn't even be writing about it, this kind of place is meant to stay secret.

Escaping time itself, as much as escaping Paris, that's the promise of the Accor group's newest hotel, the Domaine de la Reine Margot, which sprang up just minutes from the capital, in Issy-les-Moulineaux. The promise holds. This new MGallery Collection property follows in the footsteps opened by Molitor.

The Domaine de la Reine Margot opened its doors on October 24 [2023]. Overlooking Paris from Issy-les-Moulineaux, the property stands out for its bucolic, discreet, history-steeped character. Its director, Camille Devaux, was settling into the role for the third time in her career, having already helped launch several hotels, including Molitor. Her international path started young: from a childhood in Indonesia, to her studies in Switzerland, she got her start in hospitality in New York in 2001. Working as a receptionist at The Pierre, she witnessed the collapse of the Twin Towers. "It leaves a mark," she said, simply. Almost immediately after, she returned to France and joined Hyatt, where she was part of a hotel-opening team for the first time, the Park Hyatt Washington. Building on that experience, she joined the Accor group, marking her permanent return to France. She moved up energetically from role to role, hotel to hotel, frequently amid rebrandings or openings, until she was entrusted with running the Domaine de la Reine Margot.

What makes this hotel unique, especially for someone who's been part of so many openings?

Camille Devaux: An opening is always a chance to give shape to a vision shared by leadership and teams alike. It's an extraordinary opportunity and a moment full of emotion and creativity. Writing a book starting from a blank page is a good comparison. It's also what makes it hard, you have to learn to live in a new place, one you still need to understand. There's always a gap between the early vision and reality. As for this hotel, it's truly incomparable, carrying over four hundred years of history. It lets us tell our guests something extraordinary. We even created a podcast to guide visitors through the hotel via storytelling. We were also bold in blending in modern touches. The best example is the bar we set up in a former chapel on the property. You can have a drink there and chat. It's a naturally unusual space that draws a lot of curiosity. And it's that whole combination that attracts our guests.

Speaking of which, who are they?

CD: Many of our guests are Parisians coming to recharge. They stay twenty-four to forty-eight hours to take in the historic grounds, the wonderful Eiffel Tower view, and our kitchen garden. This leisure clientele echoes the staycations the Lutetia pioneered during COVID. They enjoy the spa, take yoga classes, read. Their motivation is simple but tricky to deliver on: rest. We make sure guests can step out of their daily lives into our little bubble of calm.

We also have three meeting rooms, each holding about ten people. Right now, they're mostly used by executive committees. Around the holidays, many came in for their last meetings of the year. Thanks to the garden, we'll soon be able to host cocktail lunches and dinners.

There's not much competition for hosting events in this neighborhood, so locals also come for birthdays or major family milestones. Our greenhouse is a big hit with that kind of clientele. That's part of why this location is such an opportunity, it lets us offer a real mix, for families and for business alike.

This opening is a major undertaking for the Accor group. Is it a way of testing a new concept?

CD: It's a massive undertaking, and not just for Accor, other organizations invested too, including the city of Issy-les-Moulineaux and SOAD (Seine Ouest Aménagement & Développement). MGallery, Accor's subsidiary, owns the Domaine de la Reine Margot, but it's now the hotel closest to Accor's headquarters, so the symbolism runs deep. Especially since the group's last opening in the Paris region was Molitor, almost ten years earlier. We're working hand in hand with our various partners and investors to make it a success.

Staffing and recruitment are often a source of worry during openings.

CD: We hired heavily in Issy-les-Moulineaux. We held recruitment days with support from the town hall, and it worked really well. Post-COVID, we saw a lot of people who were done with remote work and wanted to walk or bike to a job. Opening a five-star property draws a lot of interest. We got lucky, we managed to recruit talented people. Many of them are still here, and they make up a great team.

What does the right hire look like for a five-star hotel? Someone with a hospitality background?

CD: No, plenty of our people never worked in hospitality before. Honestly, it comes down to a feeling. First and foremost, it's a drive to do things well, to put yourself into it. It's also kindness and genuine care. Everything else can be learned.

What are the hardest positions to fill in hospitality?

CD: Kitchen and front desk, obviously. Those roles demand a wide range of skills: language ability, computer literacy, and the ability to adapt quickly to all kinds of situations.

Let's talk about something on a lot of people's minds today: rude or disrespectful behavior. Are you seeing that from guests?

CD: I've experienced some in my life, but most of the time it happened outside my workplace. There's a daily stress everyone feels, it's not specific to hotel staff. Our managers are trained to look after both their teams and their guests to help prevent that kind of situation. Sometimes there are unhappy guests to manage. It's great to get good reviews, but the bad ones are what help us improve. A guest's eye can catch things we missed.

What does a typical day look like for a hotel director like you?

CD: It's a big time commitment, but with good support around you, it starts to look more like an executive's schedule. You have to be organized and know how to set boundaries. Anticipating as much as possible matters, it lets you stay ahead of the hotel's calendar. There's also a lot of time to spend on the floor. You need to know your guests well, just as you know your teams. Delegating is an essential skill, but details still matter, especially when everyone's heads-down. Knowing how to step back is exactly what gives you the big-picture view.

Do you get to know the guests who stay at your property?

CD: Some hotels "Google" their guests' names. For our part, we simply keep the legal data in Accor's in-house CRM, so we know where they've stayed before and how those past stays went. The group's loyalty programs help a lot with that.

You trained at École des Roches. Looking back, can this profession be learned outside the big hospitality schools?

CD: Yes, for me, motivation is the main factor. You have to want to dive in, because it's a demanding profession. Every profession is demanding these days. People who don't have the drive don't grow in this field. Having mentors along the way is a real advantage, I had some.

Review management, now a strategic issue in hospitality.

Reading through reviews left by Domaine guests, the vast majority overwhelmingly positive, one recurring gripe was the pool area's temperature. "That's because you're moving from a warmer space into a cooler one," explained the manager, who took the time each morning to reply personally to every guest. One guest, Julie Cadalen, loved the hotel but was less impressed by the rum prices, despite their prominent place in the hotel's marketing.

"The manager replied to me directly and specifically, and then the front desk manager did too, they really take guest feedback seriously," added Ms. Cadalen, pleasantly surprised. Julie is a customer experience expert herself; she works at Concentrix + Webhelp. Paying close attention to guest expectations and guest voice, that's the future.

Who delivers memorable experiences in France?

France's 174,000 hoteliers help millions of tourists and visitors enjoy our beautiful country every year. For years, they've been up against platforms like Airbnb, which are increasingly seen as playing less than fair and far from consistently delivering iconic experiences. It's time to put things back in perspective.

Five Grandes Dames of customer experience in France

A handful of French business leaders are known, and respected, for their vision or their role in reshaping customer and traveler experience.

Pictured here: Maud Bailly, Rachel Picard, Camille Devaux, Sophie Auger-Mongenot, Marlène Dolveck.

Find them alongside 800 other CRM and commerce VIPs in the Bottin du service et de l'expérience client, published by Malpaso-RCM.