Offrir une meilleure expérience aux touristes d’affaires à un prix plus compétitif, c’est le défi ambitieux que s’est donné la start-up Discovery Stays qui, pour le relever, co-conçoît ses futurs établissements avec des promoteurs et mise déjà sur un pipeline de développement d’environ 200 M€.
Son histoire
” Discovery Stays started from the very simple observation that most of the business accommodation market is captured by hotels, and mainly by chain establishments that offer an experience/price ratio that can be clearly improved, with small, very standardized rooms that do not allow you to work in good conditions despite their high price,” explains from the outset. Lélée Julia Bah, founder and CEO of the start-up launched last year with the support of the École des Ponts ParisTech and currently incubated at Station F. Alongside her partner Alexandre Jenn, she is thus working on the launch of a new offer dedicated to business travelers: “corporate tourism represents between 20 and 25% of the accommodation market”, she underlines combining “the best of hotels and vacation rental platforms, and adapted to the needs of new generations”.
Son concept
Offering business travelers an end-to-end digital journey, from booking to entering the premises and selecting additional services, PropTech designs and operates its own hotels. “We are a new generation hotel operator, states Julia Bah. As differentiation is at the heart of our brand identity, each of our hotels will be unique and will have its own artistic direction.” The rooms at Discovery Stays also offer larger and equipped spaces to better accommodate the professional activities of its customers, which the start-up calls “home office”. Not intended to own the real estate assets it operates, the start-up has an internal creation team and co-designs them in partnership with developers “with a very strong focus on energy and environmental aspects as well as on home automation, in order to be able to control everything remotely”, notes Julia Bah. The assets are then resold “to investors who are in a financial sense and looking for long-term returns”, she continues, before adding: “The differentiation of Discovery Stays is also that, unlike traditional hoteliers, we will not bill staff again, which allows us to have attractive pricing.”
Son ambition
Aiming at developing 4-star boutique hotel-type establishments in the city centers of the main business centers and metropolises, first in France, but with a medium-term eye on Europe, Julia Bah wants to “deploy a B to B brand during the week, while opening it up to a B to C clientele during the weekend to maximize occupancy rates”, stressing that the company is working on the development of a range of complementary services. “In partnership with developers, we currently have a supply pipeline. Development of around €200 million, which corresponds to five establishments,” welcomes the CEO, who is currently conducting a round of funding and is planning first openings by 2025. “Our objective is to grow our project portfolio, but also to join forces with investors interested in the hotel industry and open to an entrepreneurial adventure at our side, through privileged partnerships.”
