openness in times of crisis

Initially scheduled for December 15, the opening of the B & B hotel in the station district was delayed by a month: “It didn’t make sense to start at that time”, explains Christophe Thiriet, co-founder and co-manager of the Heintz Immobilier et Hôtels group. If it is not for the photo, embellished with the immaculate white of the last snowy episode of the weekend, “to launch” this Monday, January 18 does not make much more sense. The pandemic is still there, the curfew reinforced throughout France. However, it is the moment chosen by the manager to inaugurate this premium B & B hotel which looks over the station: “We cannot wait indefinitely. Everything is ready… ”Everything is very successful, too.

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“The quality of sleep is at the center of our attention”

From the outside, the establishment’s avant-garde envelope sets the tone for the rest of the visit. Cozy furniture, free from the chain’s standardized codes, adorns the reception. Spread over four floors, the seventy-six rooms of the hotel meet its three-star label: “It is a very successful product, focused on the customer. The quality of sleep is at the center of our attention, with the limitation of noise pollution. »Thirty-four underground parking spaces and the upcoming opening of the Arsen et Clara restaurant, hoped for at 1is April, complete this real estate complex, the total cost of which is around € 5 million.

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Emplacement premium

This B & B *** fits perfectly with the designs of the municipality. The rise of the Right Bank of Thionville is set up as the central axis of the mandate of the mayor, Pierre Cuny. The pulse of this district should get carried away over the next few years, prophesies Christophe Thiriet: “The position, at the entrance to the city and opposite the station, is ideal. From Thionville, we shine in all the major industrial zones and as far as Luxembourg, of course. Finally, the prospect of witnessing the creation of a third railway line should boost passenger traffic from the current 7,000 to 25,000 per day. “

The business clientele is clearly targeted. But for the time being, and for many months already, it has disappeared from a landscape plagued by the Covid-19. And no one knows if the fashion for teleworking, well on its way to take root once this health crisis has passed, will consolidate this phenomenon.

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Teleworking, coworking: “We are thinking about arrangements”

The entrepreneur is however reassuring. For this newborn, already: “Usually, it takes three years for a hotel to find its cruising speed. So we have time here ”. For the profession, too: “We will adapt. We were predicted to die with Airbnb and yet our occupancy rates have never stopped increasing in recent years. Regarding teleworking, or coworking spaces, we are already thinking about arrangements within our establishments. Like transforming rooms into office space or small meeting rooms. We have already equipped our Mercure hotel in Metz with acoustic-preserving seats. So no, I do not fear an exodus of customers. Like the entire hotel industry, Christophe Thiriet is already awaiting his return.

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