Single brand umbrella for century old French luxury hospitality brand

Speaking to media at Hotel Barrière Le Majestic, Grègory Rabuel, CEO Groupe Barrière said strategically repositioning the business aligns with ambitions to expand the group’s ultra-luxury French infused hotel business further across France, Europe and the world.

It’s uber luxe Fouquet’s brand has iconic properties in Paris, Saint-Barth, Courchevel and New York.

A hotelier, F&B outlet and casino operator, Rabuel said Hotel Barrière is the largest casino group in Europe, with operating revenue turning over 1 billion Euro annually. The hotel and F&B side of the business generates 500,000 Euro annually. The business has a portfolio of 21 properties. One of its latest food & beverage outlets is the reinvigorated Loulou Restaurant in Courchevel, France.

Entering hospitality for the first time two years ago in taking up the role as Chief Executive Officer, Rabuel said the company had several hotel brands and it was unclear how they were differentiated.

A 4th generation family-owned hospitality company, Rabuel said: “Our target is simple, it’s clear. With our historical DNA, we want to focus on the ultra-luxury business in hospitality.”

“We would like to export the French art of living. It’s really disruptive, it’s really interesting. You must have a vibe, you must have an F&B offering also, and I think we have a fantastic opportunity in front of us.”

“Lets be clear. We want to open luxury hotels around the world,” Rabuel said.

By uniting its properties under the Barrière Collection banner, the brand aims to streamline its offerings while maintaining the unique identities of each property.

Moving forward, Barrière Collection consists of four guiding themes: Signature, Heritage, Address and Premium. Each of the themes has hero properties and shared brand hallmarks, including:

Signature – Fouquest’s: exclusive destinations, ultra luxury, high-end couples, trendy F&B outlets

Heritage – Hotel Barrière: chic seaside resorts, historical buildings, child friendly, sports & spa

Address – Maison Barrière: small luxury boutique hotels, fashion district, heart of cities

Premium – business and leisure, casinos

Explaining the designations, Nathanial Most, Vice President of Sales, Barrière Collection said the group chose this new path after “careful review that we needed to make the brand much clearer. It was confusing. It was confusing and complicated to our customers and guests.”

“Barrière wants to bring back the golden age into its new era. And we want to bring back what Barrière meant when guests stayed at the property.”

A number of future properties were revealed by Most, including the Maison Barrière Principe Real in Lisbon. Slated to open in 2026, the property will launch with 1- to 3-bedroom apartments and 11 suites, while an adjacent listed building will see a hotel introduced in two years.

By Guy Dundas