Last September, yes I know, nearly a year ago (I’m a bad blogger) in 2013, I was invited to the hotel opening for the new Sofitel Arc de Triomphe in the 8th district of Paris. And this past June I went to a press presentation of the newly renovated Mercure Montmartre in the 18th.
I thought it would be interesting to compare the two hotel openings and how they went about promoting their hotel.
What’s funny about the Sofitel opening is, I figured it wouldn’t be a big deal, just a visit of some rooms and maybe a glass of champagne. Boy was I wrong! I arrived to a swinging party stuffed full of Paris socialites and celebrities. About 800 people were invited to this party. Press people and fashion people. It was aparantly THE event to be at in September 2013.
So when I headed over to the Mercure Montmartre opening in June 2014, I was expecting a party. There was no party. It was a press presentation, and a very organized one at that! We were assigned a group with a few « guides » who brought us through a tour of the hotel, explaining the services and ideas behind the new design and decoration. I have to say, it was rather tedious, especially in the beginning, and we were not offered any refreshment of any sort before or during the tour. Read more →
But I’ll let you in on a little secret… Paris loves its tourists! Really??? you ask? Well, it’s only because they bring an enourmous amount of business to a country that is leaning more and more towards a services industry. Besides luxury, tourism is one of France’s big resources. +70% of the active populatin works in the service industry, which includes everything related to tourism. And Paris, being the most visited city in the world, really needs to open up its heart to tourists. We need them.
My fellow blogger Nathalie of 
The Paris love-locks… I know, I know. We have all discussed, photographed and blogged the death out of these little objects… They have a turbulent existence it would seem… All these declarations of passion, desire and commitment have become cumbersome to the city of Paris, but no one wants to discard them.
We found this fantastic little place on rue Brochant in the 17th. It has everything you would want on a cold dreary winter evening when you go out for dinner : warm colored décor, interesting and appetizing menu, friendly service, good wine, and a fun theme to the whole thing!
