The Reimagined Lobby at Sofitel Bangkok Sukhumvit, Thailand

FOR YEARS, there was one choice along Bangkoks buzzing Sukhumvit strip for those looking for a contemporary luxury homebase. Sofitel Bangkok Sukhumvit had it all: great location, French sophistication, a rooftop bar with all the views yet none of the faff, a verdant lazy-days photo-worthy pool, and the sumptuous rooms and suites wed come to rely on from this storied brand including the famous Sofitel MyBed.

Sensing that not just the hotel but also the neighborhood needed some exciting new life, Sofitel Bangkok Sukhumvit underwent a massive renovation that maintained all the elements we always loved but supercharged them. Rooms and suites are brighter and softer, there are two exciting new restaurant and bar concepts off the stunningly soaring lobby upping the F&B game, and theres a new skybridge offering direct walking access to the BTS and the heart of the city. The hotel has reemerged as the neighborhood grande dame it used to be, version 2.0: an anchor, a hub and a nurturing cocoon. You might say the same about the Sofitel brand overall, these days. And for that, much credit is due to Maud Bailly, who took over as CEO of Sofitel, MGallery and Emblems brands worldwide in January 2023, just as Accor solidified a strategic reshuffle.

Quick primer for you hotel nerds: Accor is now divided into two empowered divisions supported by corporate functions and a shared platform. First, the Premium, Mid-scale & Economic Division, whose properties are organized by region. Second, the Luxury & Lifestyle Division, organized by brand, in which the former is represented by Orient Express, Raffles, Fairmont, Sofitel/Sofitel Legend, MGallery and Emblems, and the latter includes Ennismore.

Sofitel, MGallery and Emblems find themselves in the same umbrella under Bailly because, despite having different styles, they each offer guests collections of unique places to find luxury that incorporate local soul while affirming their French roots. We asked Bailly, featured on the cover of Forbes France this July as one of 40 influential women shaping France, to share her vision of the Sofitel and MGallery brands (which comprise 240 hotels in 58 countries), what exciting evolutions lie ahead for them in Asia (there are 10 properties in Thailand alone!), and some packing tips because we can never get enough travel advice from women always on the go.

Travel+Leisure Southeast Asia: Whats your interpretation of the Sofitel DNA? What was exciting about the brand when it launched 60 years ago? Why does it matter now? And where is it going?

Maud Bailly: Sofitel is the only French global brand, the second-largest brand in the luxury hospitality industry with 123 hotels, about 31,000 rooms, and 49 countries by the end of 2023. We have a large diversity of top locations, from urban historic centers like Sofitel Barcelona Skipper, to airport locations, to mind-blowing romantic resorts, and six gems of Sofitel Legend hotels like the one we opened this year Sofitel Casco Viejo in Panama.

In a luxury world with very similar codes,we believeSofitel brand can differentiate itselfby a specific positioning on quiet and committed luxury,reconciling quality and discretion, with a very recognizable signature: the French zest for life that is based on four brand markers that we are deploying across our entire network:

Pool at Sofitel Legend Casco Viejo, Panama

Sofitel Legend Casco Viejo, Panama

The Sofitel promise also stands in its logo, the symbol of cultural link: two interlocking rings, reflecting the encounter of the French and the local culture of each hotel. All Sofitel hotels embody this union of two cultures, proving that they are also, and maybe first, places meant for their local communities.

And finally, the last and the most important brand marker: Sofitel is meant to be heartful, it should lead the way in sustainable luxury, with a strong CSR commitment.

T+L SEA: What CSR activities are you most passionate about?

Maud Bailly:

1. Promoting diversity and inclusion

2. Giving back to local communities by strengthening local anchorage and solidarity

3. Fighting against food waste especially by leveraging AI

To change the perception of a sector that can sometimes be perceived as a predator we developed a demanding CSR roadmap. Our ambition is to demonstrate that our brands can be sustainable places and can have a positive impact on the local communities, that we can combine beauty, experience and eco-responsibility.

Our 7-pillar roadmap is:

Im convinced that the power of a brand, no matter how fascinating it is, is no longer enough. We decided to stand for a committed luxury, inclusive, diversity-promoting, luxury that gives back to our local communities and serves something bigger than ourselves.

It has to be rooted in a genuine purpose, a value system and a positive societal impact. For me, this is the most powerful lever of attraction and retention.

T+L SEA: Glad you brought up RiiSE. The hospitality industry has long been dominated by men, but more and more women are becoming luxury GMs and taking on other important leadership roles. How is Accor/Sofitel working on gender parity?

Maud Bailly: The group has been a pioneer on the diversity and inclusion subject, long before Rixain French law appeared in 2021. With 300,000 people working all around the world, diversity is obviously at the heart of our DNA. Diversity of cultures, backgrounds, educations, skills, jobsthere are 138 different kinds of jobs in hotels, where you can find up to 25 different nationalities, and this is a real gift. And we value diversity as an immense lever of collective intelligence, with strong KPIs to monitor it, notably through our RiiSE diversity network, with 20,000 members all around the world.

I am against quotas, but for quotas until we dont need them anymore. I believe the sum of individualities is greater than collective individualities.

When I started this new role on the first of January, we were counting 26% of women as general managers in our hotels; they are now 29.5% and we hope to reach 32% by the end of the year.

With RiiSE we are also fighting against all forms of violence and are very involved with several NGOs to help women victim of violence: finding them a place to stay with their children, conducting webinars with testimonies, and even training our teammates within Accor to detect early indicators of violence.

Finally, I am very involved in mentorship to help women both within and outside of Accor. I am trying to help every woman to embrace their sensitivity as a form of freedom and truth towards others. As Gustave Flaubert said, I am endowed with an absurd sensitivity; what scratches others tears me apart. Being a woman in this industry and more globally is finding the right balance between intellectual and emotional quotients, which is a combination for success.

T+L SEA: Wellness is huge right now. What new, interesting things are Sofitel and MGallery in Asia doing to meet guest needs in spa, health and wellbeing?

Maud Bailly: We are always listening to our guests, and studies have shown that 80% wish to focus on their wellbeing. Guests are now seeking more personalization, as well as a reconnection to oneself and others. Desires for nature intertwine with a strong attraction to new technologies, and, hence, to sustainable results. This is how our new holistic wellness concept The Purist Retreat & Spa was born. An innovative offering centered around four pillars of wellbeing: care, sleep, nutrition, and movement. It provides a means to live better, find balance, and establish new lifestyle habits.

The very first The Purist Retreat & Spa is opening its doors in December 2023 within the MGallery in Trouville, Normandy, in France, an ideal destination for its fresh air and seawater. Here, the offering is reinvented, modernized, and tailored to a guest seeking a holistic experience. The treatment menu has been enriched with exclusive novelties and complemented by a 360 wellness offering.

The Purist Retreat & Spa is intended to be deployed worldwide, in each case emphasizing the expert hands of our teams and strong CSR commitments. In our spaces, guests regain control of their health, learn to understand themselves (better), and take daily self-care.

Globally, all Sofitel hotels have a dedicated luxury spa. We are also dedicated to the Art of Sleep, from jet-lag kits, to our pioneering Sofitel MyBed, to sleep rituals.

Our MGallery hotels offer signature treatments and local know-how in the wellness space, using local products inspired by the destination and ancestral techniques (for example, the farm within the hotel serving all organic ingredients at the restaurant in Legacy Yen Tu, herbs from the garden used in the spa treatments, etc). And we highlight outdoor experiences, from sunrise in Sapa at Hotel de la Couple, to mountain hiking at Veranda Chiang Mai, to personal wellness gurus at V Villas Phuket.

T+L SEA: What innovations should we be looking out for in Sofitel and MGallery food and beverage in Asia?

Haute Croissanterie at Sofitel Dubai The Obelisk

Haute Croissanterie at Sofitel Dubai The Obelisk

Maud Bailly: The French zest in all our hotels starts at breakfast! Sofitel will soon introduce a project around the art of the croissanta century-old true symbol of the French breakfast around the world. From mastering the traditional pur beurre croissant to perfection following the French pastry guidelines, to creating a cultural link in styling the croissant, Sofitel Croissants will let the guests taste the essence of different places, celebrating the diversity of global cuisine where unique flavors come together, ultimately linking the French culture with other cultures around the world.

At MGallery we aim to turn our hotels into lively destination places for locals with one of the brand pillars being Memorable. Memorable stands for memorable moments, design and mixology. We are creating a signature cocktail to tell the story of each hotel, its creativity, savoir-faire and local anchorage.

T+L SEA: Whats your favorite destination in Asia-Pacific?

Maud Bailly: Vietnam.

T+L SEA: How often per month do you travel? And can we get your most important packing tips, please?

I am traveling three to six times a month! My life could be summarized this way: from checked bag to carry-on, I became a worldwide expert of under 100mlbeautyproducts.

Travel tips: drink a lot of water, no alcohol, sleep as much as you can each time you can, dont eat too much on a plane, take some high hydration masks, and never forget yourflightsocks!

T+L SEA: What did you want to be when you grew up?

Maud Bailly: A hand surgeon!

T+L SEA: Haha! Wed say were surprised but actually you came to this job from operations in a totally different industry. How does running the Paris Metro Montparnasse station equip you to run one of the worlds most prestigious luxury hotel brands?

Maud Bailly: A principle has always driven me: to fully embrace each experience, whether its spending six months on the field at SNCF learning to couple TGV carriages, overseeing missions for NGOs in inspection, envisioning tomorrows solutions within Manuel Vallss economic and digital cell at Matignon, or over the past six years at Accor, alongside my wonderful teams.

Throughout all my experiences, I have remained true to who I am, my values, my drive to build powerful teams through diversity, my desire to empower those around me, and my commitment to the cause of women.

The expectations of the new generations have evolved significantly in their approach to work, that is why we are very focused on the purposehow we are serving something bigger than ourselves. I am deeply involved in the transformation of the hotel industry to make it more environmentally friendly by eliminating plastic usage, making our buildings cleaner, thereby reducing their greenhouse gas emissions, and minimizing food waste.

I am always guided by Ren Chars quote: There are only two ways to live your life: as though nothing is a miracle, or as though everything is a miracle.

The general manager of Sofitel Bangkok Sukhumvit, Oliver Schnatz, introduces us to his newly spruced-up grande dame The renovation of the hotel did not only cover all of our 345 guest rooms and suites, but we also have a put a very strong focus on enhancing all the public spaces in the hotel. This includes the bridge that was built to connect the Sofitel Bangkok Sukhumvit directly with the Asok BTS station, the Sukhumvit MRT station, and Terminal 21 shopping mall.

When we conceptualized the new food and beverage outlets for the hotel one of the key objectives was to create venues that would appeal to the community as much as they would appeal to our in-house guest. Judging by the number of local residents we are now welcoming on a daily basis, it seems that we were able to achieve this and become a meeting spot for the community.

Our soul is in providing exceptional and personalized service.

There are indeed many new hotels coming into the market on a regular basis and with our renovated product we can definitely compete with them. But ultimately it is the service culture in a hotel that creates these memories that make you want to return. I truly believe that we have a very caring and passionate team and they are the ones creating the opportunities to set us apart from many other luxury hotels.

To find out more about the lovely new look and feel at Sofitel Bangkok Sukhumvit, read here.

Article Sponsored by Sofitel Bangkok Sukhumvit. Images courtesy of Sofitel, unless otherwise noted.

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The New CEO of Sofitel and MGallery Hotels Says Deliberate Hedonism Plus Mindful CSR Are What Todays Luxury Is Made Of - Travel + Leisure Southeast...