In the boarding area
We had the opportunity to spend some time with Jérome Linÿer, the new president of LAFAYETTE DMC.
Just before taking off for the United States, we took stock of the company’s many news with him.
Hello Jérôme Linÿer, you’ve just taken control of Lafayette Travel. Can you tell us a little about your background?
Between 2006 and 2015, I worked for Yachts de Paris, where I managed the events and the MICE business division for which Lafayette Travel was my most important. It was at this time that I met François Gailliard and his teams.
During this period, we produced some very big events: the Land Rover launch on the Seine, a dinner for 1,200 people for Allstate, with 14 boats at the same time, and many others.
It’s a company I know well, and I’ve always appreciated its expertise, the commitment of its teams and the type of customers they serve.
Then I met Nicolas Lecoeur, founder of the caterer “Fleur de Mets”.
Nicolas invested in 3 event venues in Paris (les Salons de l’Aveyron, Rooftop Grenelle and NEWCAP Event Center) and entrusted me with their commercial and operational management. We’ve been working together since 2017.
Complementarity is the key to the success of our collaboration.
Nicolas has company management expertise, analytical finesse and extensive know-how in gastronomy and events in Paris and elsewhere.
My strengths are sales, marketing and human resources.
Nicolas has been a partner and associate of LAFAYETTE DMC for 6 years, and suggested that I buy it with him, knowing that François GAILLIARD wanted to sell his company.
The transfer became an obvious choice for all 3 of us, and so here we are at the helm.
You’ve been managing LAFAYETTE DMC since June 2023.
What surprised you the most?
I was blown away by LAFAYETTE DMC’s international reputation, and even more so by the motivation and commitment of the teams, who remained united and supportive despite the COVID crisis, which was very “traumatic”.
I was also impressed by the organization of the IBA congress, which brought together 4,000 lawyers from all over the world at the Palais des Congrès, and by the exceptional evening events at the Carrousel du Louvre and the Mairie de Paris.
The creativity, availability, know-how and execution of this event by our teams blew me away and gave meaning to our commitment.
Why did you change the name of Lafayette travel to LAFAYETTE DMC?
DMC, (Destination Management Company), is the generic term for our business and understood worldwide. Our job is to put together programs for foreign customers who want to come to France or Monaco, both BtoB and BtoC.
We go beyond “travel”. We create events for our customers.
So, it made sense to us to change our name.
What is your vision of the DMC market, and what are the outlook for the future?
People will always need and want to travel. Our business still has a bright future ahead of it, despite the growing awareness of the carbon impact of air transport. Furthermore, France, and in particular Paris and the Côte d’Azur, are highly attractive destinations that are popular over the world. However, we mustn’t let our assets put us to sleep, and we must constantly work on the creativity of our programs, which must be part of an assertive and committed CSR policy.
We are confident about our future, as geopolitical events are having less and less impact on customer behavior. We know how to evolve our offers and diversify our markets to mitigate risks. With this in mind, we have already deployed resources to develop the UK and EU markets on the one hand and initiated an exceptional premium offer for BtoC on the other
LAFAYETTE DMC benefits of a very strong reputation in the USA, and now needs to establish itself on all continents.
This gives us great perspectives!
What do you see as LAFAYETTE DMC’s main strength?
For me, there are 3:
- The worldwide renown of LAFAYETTE DMC, thanks to the work of François Gailliard since 1986, who, by touring the United States, Europe and Australia, has convinced the MICE industry to use LAFAYETTE DMC to design and operate their customers’ projects.
- A reputation is built on the quality and expertise of the teams who conceive and carry out projects. François has always surrounded himself with the best! And that’s still the case today. We are supported by 40 top collaborators.
- It’s a strategic advantage to have offices in Paris, Bordeaux, Cannes and Monaco. And what destinations! Do you know of any more beautiful ones in the world? 🙂
What are LAFAYETTE DMC’s development priorities?
There are 4 major areas of development.
- The first is to reinforce and accentuate our presence on the US market by adjusting our sales pitch and working on the creativity of our offers.
- The second area of development concerns the UK/EU market, which we’re going to approach in a different way, with a more event-oriented offering.
- The third will be to take on the Southeast Asian market in partnership with a personality whose origins and culture will appeal to our future customers.
- The 4th axis concerns the FIT (Free Individual Traveler) market, for which we are currently developing an exceptional offer.
You’ve just launched a new website with a renewed graphic charter. Can you tell us more about it?
In fact, the site was built in perfect correlation with our development priorities.
On top of that, it’s a real change of design tone to address a new generation of buyers whose codes have changed.
What’s next for Lafayette DMC?
We’re going to be present at all the world’s major trade shows: IMEX in Las Vegas, ITBM in Barcelona, SMU in New York and certain European workshops such as The Meetings Spaces. We’ll be asserting our presence at these major events and organizing Fam trips for customers to help them discover our beautiful country.
How do you see LAFAYETTE DMC in 10 years’ time?
We want to become the French DMC champion, not based on volume or value, but on the timeless criterion of Quality.
This value, adapted to the specific characteristics of the markets in our areas of development, will guarantee us success and long life!
