NEW YORK—Le Méridien Hotels & Resorts wants nothing less than to “bring back the glamour of travel,” said George Fleck, the company’s VP of global brand marketing and management.
The brand has been under multiple corporate umbrellas, with Marriott International the latest, and is now in a position to occupy a unique space in the full-service segment, he said.
Few full-service brands can claim the kind of “strong origin story” Le Méridien has or the distinctive style it brings to the category, said Fleck, who has been in his position for three years and with Le Méridien for a decade.
Building on those strengths, the brand is aiming to double in size over the next 10 years. It currently operates 109 hotels with 33 in the pipeline.
Unlike most full-service flags, Le Méridien is much stronger outside the U.S., where it currently has 22 locations. “In North America, our footprint is small but mighty,” Fleck said.
New properties are projected to open soon in St. Louis, outside Pasadena and elsewhere.
Fleck said wherever the brand goes, even if that’s a suburban office park in the Atlanta Perimeter, it brings a distinctive style.
The management/franchise mix abroad is even and, while in the U.S. 80% of the brand is franchised. Also, resorts comprise almost a third of inventory.
Resorts are ideal for Le Méridien, which aims to provide “La Dolce Vita” to guests, Fleck said.
“While others are encouraging guests to speed up, we are asking them to slow down, to have a glass of champagne,” he said.
The Le Méridien brand was created by Air France in 1972 “at the height of the golden age of travel when the Concorde was flying to Europe in three hours and Air France was exporting French style in design and cuisine,” Fleck said.
It was originally focused on providing lodging for passengers and crews on the carrier’s route system, often in exotic places, and was frequently first or early into emerging markets such as Cambodia and Bhutan, he said.
Over time, Le Méridien became a fairly indistinguishable collection. Recently, the brand’s focus has shifted somewhat.
“We are now becoming a truly recognizable global brand,” Fleck said.
He said luxury brands like St. Regis have clearly defined profiles, but full-service brands tend not to. As a result, he said, there is an opening for Le Méridien to distinguish itself not only in the Marriott family, but in the full-service category with “a strong sensory point of view” and “a sophisticated European sensibility.”
In recent years, Le Méridien has developed its own scent and music programs—and even a lipstick (LM Rouge)—to evoke a feeling of traveling in a grand way.
“Our scent evokes driving along the Côte d’Azur in a convertible with the top down and smelling eucalyptus and citrus,” Fleck said.
The brand also is capitalizing on a “trend toward timeliness,” evidenced by the popularity of Rolex watches or “wearing a pair of blue jeans with a crisp white shirt—staples you will always use in your daily life,” he said.
Like many competitors, Le Méridien has developed an active lobby model, called Le Méridien Hub. Fleck said the goal is to bring back “the feel of airline lounges of the past that provided real sensory experiences.”
Even staff uniforms aim to evoke that nostalgic feeling. “Every touchpoint matters,” he said.
Of course, being part of Marriott is critical, but Fleck hopes to maintain a separate identity for the brand. “If I‘m a Bonvoy member I want to walk into a Méridien and know that it’s not a Sheraton or a Marriott,” he said.
“What is the role of a global chain at a time when there is a surge of hotel collection and design hotels? We believe we are in a sweet spot being able to offer the consistency of a global brand with the curated, specialized point of view of a boutique.”