Hello everyone, happy Wednesday.
I’m very excited to share a behind-the-scenes view of a hotel group doing hospitality in a unique way: Airelles.
Ask any sophisticated traveler what they think of Airelles as a brand, and you’ll either get glowing reviews or feedback that it wasn’t for them. This is exactly why I appreciate how they operate — they’re intensely focused on providing a specific kind of experience and being the best at it, rather than trying to appeal to everyone. As an ultra-luxury hotel group competing in a pool of well-capitalized brands that seemingly want to be on everyone’s radar, it’s a bold and respectable strategy.
Although I almost exclusively talk about hotels on this platform, I rarely share my personal experiences staying at the hotels I talk about. But here is something you should know before you listen to this interview: I loved my experience at Airelles’ Le Grand Contrôle so much that I already began planning my next trip there before check out, and am planning to stay longer next time. Le Grand Contrôle is the only hotel in the Palace of Versailles, and I would describe it more as an immersive experience than a hotel. I had the chance to experience private after-hour tours of Versailles and the Grand Trianon, the private family palace of Louis XIV. I rode a stunning French horse between rows of trees in the garden of Versailles. At the Royal Feast by Alain Ducasse, the staff dressed in 17th century costumes choreographed what was the closest I could get to experiencing dinner at court. It was theatrical, glorious, and unforgettable. If you’ve been a reader of The Stanza for a while, you’ll know that I have a passion for history, particularly of this period, and so this experience was special for me.
Then, there’s the gifting, which Airelles is known for. Each time we returned to our room, we were showered with beautiful gifts that were often customized with our initials, along with endless Ladurée macarons, exotic fruits, and snacks. In case you do stay at an Airelles hotel, I won’t spoil it for you and tell you exactly what they gifted me, but I’ll just say that they took “surprise and delight” to another level. As someone privy to hotel P&L’s, it struck me that they clearly have invested a lot into generosity, which is not the easiest decision when you’re operating smaller hotels. But, this generosity communicates that they’re thinking of how to make guests feel special, and therefore, it’s easy to see why Airelles has a cult following and a high return rate.
This is also Anne-Laure’s first podcast interview, and I’m grateful that despite the fact that Airelles tends to be discreet as a group, she was able to share what it takes to build a hotel brand at this level.
Listen on Apple Podcasts
Part I: The Travel Advisor as Curator
00:00:27
Erina Pindar, COO of SmartFlyer, argues that the travel advisor’s core product is less about access but more so curation and personalization: the construction of high-emotional-impact moments that exist outside the algorithm and cannot be replicated through self-booking.
In Part I of this episode, Erina walks through how SmartFlyer conceptualizes experiences designed to generate genuine surprise for HNW clients, why safari travel has seen a measurable resurgence in demand post-pandemic, and what the rise of multi-generational, long-stay itineraries signals about how the most valuable travel clients are beginning to define the category for themselves.
This episode was made possible in partnership with SmartFlyer.
SmartFlyer works with hotel owners and management companies looking to access a HNW traveler base that sits outside standard distribution channels. Reach out to learn more.
hello@smartflyer.com
Learn more about SmartFlyer here
Follow SmartFlyer on Instagram
Part II: The Art of Emotional Storytelling: How Airelles Builds Ultra-Luxury Around History & Generosity
00:09:54
Anne-Laure Ollagnon is the CEO of Airelles, the French ultra-luxury hotel group owned by entrepreneur Stéphane Courbit, whose portfolio of historic properties spans France and, as of this month, Italy. She joined the group in 2007 when Courbit acquired the original property in Courchevel, bringing a background in M&A law that shaped her approach to transforming heritage buildings into destination assets.
Airelles follows a full ownership model across almost all of its portfolio: Airelles Courchevel, Airelles Val d’Isère, Château de la Messardière and Pan Deï Palais both in Saint-Tropez, La Bastide de Gordes in Provence, and Palladio Venice on the island of Giudecca.
The one exception is Le Grand Contrôle, the only hotel inside the grounds of the Palace of Versailles, which Airelles operates under a concession with the French government. It is arguably the most precise expression of what the brand stands for: identifying sites of irreplaceable historic significance and restoring them into experiences that could not exist anywhere else. Across all of it, Airelles has grown without third-party management contracts, maintaining direct operational control and brand integrity at every property.
In this episode, I sat down with Anne-Laure Ollagnon to explore what it really takes to build and run an ultra-luxury hotel group rooted in historic properties, emotional storytelling, and a culture of generosity that institutional capital structures are rarely designed to sustain.
Interview Highlights:
The difference between family office capital and institutional capital in ultra-luxury, and how that impacts the guest experience
How Airelles won the Palace of Versailles tender against more than fifteen competing hotel groups
The six-year acquisition and authorization process for Airelles Palladio Venice, and what patience as a development discipline actually costs
Airelles’ philosophy behind owning and operating distinct hotels
What Anne-Laure looks for when evaluating a new asset, and why emotion is the first filter before any underwriting begins
How a high-end hotel under 50 keys justifies its ADR and operates profitably without relying on volume
Anne-Laure’s view on where ultra-luxury is heading
Learn more about Airelles here
Follow Airelles on Instagram
Follow the latest opening in Venice on Instagram: the Airelles Palladio
