PROFILES

In 2001 Antoine Chevanne joined the Floirat group, which was started by his great-grandfather and owns the mythic Hôtel Byblos and Les Caves du Roy club, among others. Since January 2017 – the year those two Saint-Tropez legends celebrated their 50th birthdays – he has been Groupe Floirat’s CEO. Is he satisfied? “I feel I’ve done well since I arrived, meaning I’ve accomplished what I considered a priority: to make the group and the staff that help build its image grow together.“ As proved by Marie-Eugénie Hernandez moving from the post of head housekeeper at the Byblos to that of general manager of La Réserve in Saint-Jean-de-Luz, and Yves-Marie Guguen who “started at the bottom” in Saint-Tropez and is now in charge of Les Manoirs de Tourgéville (the group’s two other hotels). This “pride in accompanying them to these positions” is an expression of Chevanne’s desire to further consolidate a family business founded on people-focused values. A success that goes hand in hand with another equally important: making the Byblos an international reference in luxury hotel accommodation. Long seen as a Caves du Roy clubbers’ backroom, today the hotel is justly proud to be an exclusive destination in its own right: classed as a “Palace” in 2012, it houses the Rivea at Byblos by Alain Ducasse fine-dining restaurant and the world’s first Sysley spa. “We’ve reimagined ourselves and innovated while preserving our genetic heritage.” So all for the best in the best of worlds? Not quite, there’s one little thing still niggling Chevanne: the facile caricature of Saint-Tropez still doing the rounds. “People are too apt to forget that outside the period from 20 July to 10 August, which can indeed get excessive, the rest of the year the resort is a charming fishing village that likes to feel it’s one
big family. And that’s the message I want to get across!”

Par Alexandre Benoist

Photo Jean-Michel Sordello