CAREER - BENJAMIN ABITTAN, MANAGING DIRECTOR OF CHÂTEAUFORM': “THERE'S NO SUCH THING AS SELLING OUT AT OUR CHÂTEAUX”
The CEO talks about the differentiating codes deployed by the mission-driven company, which specializes in the creation and management of employee experiences. . |
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CAREER - BENJAMIN ABITTAN, MANAGING DIRECTOR OF CHÂTEAUFORM': “THERE'S NO SUCH THING AS SELLING OUT AT OUR CHÂTEAUX”
The CEO talks about the differentiating codes deployed by the mission-driven company, which specializes in the creation and management of employee experiences. . |
Category: Europe - Careers
- Interviews and portraits
- Career - Interviews
Interview made by Vanessa Guerrier-Buisine on 2024-11-13
 Daniel and Benjamin Abittan, respectively Chairman and Managing Director of Châteauform'
Photo credit © Châteauform / Arlency
In harmony with his father's vision, Benjamin Abittan, Châteauform's Deputy Managing Director, took over the reins of the company and drew on its values to transform it into a company with a mission, whose raison d'être is ‘to breathe “added warmth” into every encounter, to inspire its guests as much as they inspire the company, and to create encounters that respect people, places and living things’. Châteauform‘’s recipe? To offer dedicated spaces for business seminars, with an all-inclusive package. Renowned for its historic properties in the countryside, the company is adapting to offer exceptional employee experiences.
In an interview with Journal des Palaces, Benjamin Abittan talks not only about the pillars of this company with a mission, but also about how Châteauform' meets the new needs of businesses.
Journal des Palaces: What is Châteauform's DNA?
Benjamin Abittan: Châteauform' was inspired by the life story of my father, Daniel Abittan, who worked in 1,000 different professions with a single conviction: that business should serve people rather than serve itself.
Châteauform' believes in the fertility of encounters within the company and therefore offers very pleasant places and conditions in which to get together, allowing the potential of each individual to blossom so that the whole company can benefit.
How do you choose your teams? What qualities do you look for when recruiting?
We recruit locally and are often the largest employer in the village where we are based. Recruitment is based on our six values: love of the guest, loyalty and honesty, family spirit, boldness and initiative, growth and helping others to grow, and performance.
We select few people based on their particular technical skills. In the kitchen, technical skills are obviously necessary, but for example, for the job we call ‘table host’, which refers to the role of waiter, we're not looking for maître d'hôtel.
So you often recruit people with no technical skills. How do you help them to become professionals?
We have a corporate university to inculcate certain skills, but we're big believers in learning by doing. We have in-house training centres, such as the Château de Faverges-de-la-Tour, where our chefs come to learn from chef Mélanie Coca, who shares her menu management strategy with them, so that they can adapt to any dietary constraints... We then give our talented staff time to digest and formalize what they have learned in our training centres.
We have also forged partnerships with culinary and hotel industry schools such as Ferrandi. We are also in discussion with La Source Foodschool, which is training a new generation of excellence and offering a new way of learning.
Why do candidates apply to Châteauform rather than a traditional hotel industry?
We have adopted a management system based on an upside-down pyramid, which encourages trust and gives responsibility and autonomy to our talents. In practice, Châteauform' talents have every right to satisfy the guest, whatever the cost and without asking anyone's permission. One of the advantages is that there's no such thing as selling out at our châteaux. When the participants arrive, everything has already been paid for. If a CEO likes good wine, our talents can offer him a good bottle from our cellar. So, we cultivate the pleasure of hosting, and as there is no transaction, it's easier.
What's more, our châteaux are less busy at weekends and during the holidays. Professionals who love their job, but find it tiring on a family level and appreciate taking advantage of three weeks in August, and potentially two weeks at Christmas... may consider a change of career at Châteauform'. Our guest couples often come from the hotel industry and are looking for a new experience. Sometimes they've already tried their hand at entrepreneurship... They join us because they appreciate the informality of our culture, combined with our constant quest for excellence.
Finally, many talented people come back after leaving Châteauform' to try something new. We've even set up an alumni club, which we bring together every year for a big party.
Why do your guests choose to stay at Châteauform rather than privatize a hotel or resort?
With 70 houses in France and Europe, in the city, in the countryside, with or without accommodation, we have a wide range of options to suit many needs. What's more, our offers are ‘all-inclusive’ and the cost of the quote is the same as the cost of the invoice.
Where Châteauform' stands out the most is in the creation of psychological safe-spaces by breaking with codes. In our houses, we're on a first-name basis with everyone and we're breaking down the corporate hierarchy to some extent. I often get feedback from participants like: ‘It was great! My boss was making mojitos at 1am’.
It's all about creating chemistry between the groups. To achieve this, we encourage the organizers to set aside some free time, as the sheer number of activities on offer at the châteaux means that boredom is bound to lead to encounters. For example, someone from the IT department might go cycling with the head of finance. The organizers tend to overload the programmes when they plan team-building weekends, because they are afraid of boredom.
What are your criteria for choosing a property to host the Châteauform' brand?
The beauty of the location is not the only criterion. Easy access to Châteauform' from stations, airports and business centres is essential, because MICE travellers organise their trips differently from leisure tourists. Today, all our residences are accessible by train, in France and in the six neighbouring countries. It's vital to offer a solution that allows people to travel while reducing their carbon footprint. We have also been awarded the ‘Lead Venues’ label by the Metropolitan in 2023, the world's first label for events with a sustainable ambition.
Finally, we carry out work on each of the properties we open, for an average investment of €20-25 million. So, we look for owners capable of financing these works, which we then pay back in the form of rent.
Could you tell us about the latest news from Châteauform'?
Through Châteauform‘ Inside, we are increasingly managing our guests’ training facilities. Like the Deloitte corporate university in Marne-la-Vallée, where 130 Châteauform' talents are working to orchestrate and manage facility management for the building, F&B, management and entertainment outside the classroom. It's a Châteauform' relocated, where we offer an employee experience. Deloitte has invested €200 million to build a 25,000 m² campus with 300 rooms, and now all it must do is manage the content of the training courses.
We also know how to offer a model within tighter budgets, as we did at the SNCF training centre in Saint-Priest, where the rate of absenteeism from training courses fell drastically.
What are your current projects?
We are going to open three new châteaux in Germany: in Berlin in February 2025, Frankfurt in September 2025 and Munich in January 2026. We have chosen to intensify our presence in countries where we are already established and to open only in those where we have sales teams. This is the case in the UK, where our sales team has been present for ten years and where we already have guests.
Finally, we are continuing to develop Châteauform' Inside. We have signed up ten locations in the last twelve months.
 Easy access is the first criterion for choosing a Châteauform'. Here, Le Château de Romainville, located 35 minutes by train from Paris
Photo credit © Fabien BARRAU
 Villa Gallarati Scotti is just a 30-minute train ride from Milan
Photo credit © Châteauform'
 Marseille's Châteauform' is just a 10-minute walk from Gare Saint-Charles
Photo credit © Stephanielacombe.com
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