Hi everybody. This is going to be the most formal and fancy version of room service that we've ever done. I'm here with Sebastian, the CEO of Accor, and Accor is the owner of this incredible ship, the Orient Express Corinthian. I wanted to do a little surprise. Nobody knew I was going to do this. I showed up in a sequin gown because we're at the Cannes Film Festival. We're on a super fancy yacht, so I got dressed up, which is really exciting because we're celebrating. This is a huge moment for you personally and for your brand, but a lot of people thought that this couldn't really happen. Tell us a little bit about what inspired you to build the most luxurious and largest sailing yacht on the planet.
It is true that we wanted to do something unique, elegant, refined. In English, one might say ravishing. Actually, what I wanted to do, to tell you the entire story, is go back 100 years. I realized that the best years of luxury travel happened to be in the 1920s. Art Deco—it's all about gastronomy, white-glove serving, impeccable mahogany, Lalique, perfume, music. And on top of that, with the true necessity to go back to Art Deco times, I wanted to invert the paradigm. Why is it that since the inception of hospitality in the 1960s, we've been forcing you always to go to the product you love? Can I bring your loved product to you? Well, you can do that with a car; it's tiny.
With a train, we've done it already.
And the missing item was, can I have the most luxurious hotel on Earth but as a movable asset? Let me bring that hotel to you. Of course, one condition, you need to be close to the water.
But it could be Miami, Abu Dhabi, Marseille, Porto Cervo, Capri, Rome, many places. And for many Americans, they were used to checking the car four times and unpacking luggage at least four times.
And they sit in traffic for an hour just to get back from the beach at the end of the day.
So I said, what if we have the best of those hotels waiting for you outside the airport? I'll pick you up, and then don't worry, I'll take you to the cities you love.
We're talking about this as recreating the best experience at sea, but in a way that you actually came at it differently. You said, how do I take the very experience on land and put it to sea?
I'm addressing the hotel guests. Can they discover something from the sea? Discover Cannes from the sea, Marseille from the sea, Monaco from the sea? They've never done it. Well, if they do, it's with their own boat, but it's only six cabins.
It's kind of funny that Four Seasons, Aman, and Ritz-Carlton had the same kind of thinking over the same time horizon.
I know. Did you guys all get together in a bar? No, we didn't. We respect one another in this industry. We didn't decide to launch at the same time. But I think the four of us are right, and I'm happy we are four. We're in different categories, but demand is exponential, and comparing products is probably even better because it saves on marketing.
Also, look at where we are. We're surrounded by the Mediterranean coast from France to Italy, with some of the best hotels in the world. They're not competing against each other; they're leveling up the playing field. Whether it's Cheval Blanc, La Reserve, or Le Sirenuse, people say they'll go to all of them. That's the same with the new ultra-luxury yachts.
Yeah, but it's something extra. I would like to kidnap our customers so that within the same 10 days, they can experience Ritz magic, Venice magic, the train going from city to city, and the yacht. They'll have a very similar magic-spread experience in different destinations.
Most people create a brand with something typical and put it in different places. What you did with Orient Express is start with a hotel, then a train, then a yacht—three totally different experiences, but it's like creating an emotion, a feeling rather than a physical product.
Yes. Huge caveat: I'm not creating anything; it existed prior to me. That brand is 140 years old since 1883 and has been on all verticals except the yacht. The founder, Nagelmackers, a Belgian, thought about the train when crossing the Atlantic on a yacht and wrote about it. I'm only reviving something mythical, and I need to be humble, learn, and craft it slowly.
In a way, you're stewards bringing it back to life while making something new. In travel, people want a good time, to turn their brains off, experience places without working hard, just slow down and enjoy views with a glass of champagne.
Being in France for four days, in Cannes during the film festival, I simply did not go on shore. Because the yacht becomes the destination. Many people might not care whether they're in Capri or Saint-Tropez; they stay on the yacht because it takes you rapidly, and you feel cozy, protected, warm.
There's a lot unique about this yacht: a $35,000 bed, but nothing feels stuck up—it's ultra-luxury yet comfortable. Also, it's French-flagged, built in a legendary shipyard.
Careful, because the French are known to be obnoxious and arrogant, which is mostly right. But it's not accidental. We would never do a yacht if not driven by wind. It's a sail yacht, going 15 knots on the wind, moving 25,000 tons—magical, silent, beautiful, and your wine remains stable. It's French all over: ownership, officer crew, artisans, gastronomy, flag. We accept a bit of Italian and Spanish for craftsmanship, but gastronomy is fully French with Yannick Alléno.
