SOCIETIES: A New Invite-Only Hospitality Industry Event Series
Last week in Paris we launched our brand new members-only event series, SOCIETIES. From our opening event, an immersive listening session at the legendary Opera Garnier with Devialet and Bespoke Sound, to an inspiring breakfast and roundtable at Hôtel Madame Rêve, to our closing soirée at Experimental Group's Prescription Cocktail Club, co-hosted with Namastay.
SOCIETIES is a natural extension of Influence Society’s mission to cover new ground and help hoteliers innovate and reach their full potential. It’s also undoubtedly a new format, far removed from the huge, stuffy conference setting many of us are familiar with. Instead, SOCIETIES is an intimate, invite-only series of select events where we discuss trends and hot topics within the world of hospitality today.
We’re convinced this is the future of conferences: small, private, highly-curated, and valuable. As you’ll see below, the magic came from the combination of amazing concepts, settings, partners, and, most importantly, guests.
Act 1: Immersive Listening at the Paris Opera
Our opening event took place at the Opera Garnier, the legendary opera house in the center of Paris. Partnered with music identity studio, Bespoke Sound, and luxury speaker designers Devialet, we invited hoteliers to experience several pieces of music (and one non-music field recording from the jungles of Guadaloupe!) in high-fidelity surround-sound, powered by 16 Devialet Phantom speakers, all inside the Opera Garnier.
The auditory experience was accompanied by small plates designed by Chef Senda David Waguena to match each track played. Attendees shared their excitement about experiencing how a simple change in musical style could transform their experience of a space in a visceral way– from Bach to Bowie and back again – and remarked as to how they’d apply this approach at their own properties.
Act 2: Breakfast and Roundtable at Madame Rêve
The next morning, an intimate group of the leading minds in Parisian hospitality gathered at Madame Rêve for a lively, high-level roundtable and breakfast. Framed by a spectacular view over the rooftops of Paris, the group discussed pressing issues facing the hospitality industry.
Laurent Taïeb, founder of the highly-acclaimed Madame Rêve and the highly-anticipated, soon-to-open TOO Hotel, opened the talks, sharing exclusive insights behind the design and development of TOO Hotel. Following Taïeb was Marie-Agnés Kerneis from Namastay shared their insights on mobile payment trends and how hoteliers can get ahead of the curve. From there, Experimental Group’s Founder & CEO, Romée de Goriainoff gave a rare and highly interesting talk about their unique take on the intersection of conversion strategy, user experience, and guest experience. Founder & CEO of Bespoke Sound, Clay Bassford, followed by talking about how hospitality brands can leverage the power of music and sound to enhance the guest experience in new and innovative ways. Finally, Influence Society’s Director of Strategy, Camille Broussin, shared a comprehensive take on major budget-related trends facing hoteliers in the coming year.
After lively follow-up discussions, the party got an exclusive tour of Madam Rêve’s expansive rooftop, with views from Sacre Coeur to the Eiffel Tower.
Act 3: Closing Soirée at Prescription Cocktail Club
Our final event to close out the first edition of SOCIETIES was an exclusive soirée at Experimental Group’s latest bar in the Latin Quarter of Paris, Prescription Cocktail Club. Soundtracked by Bespoke Sound’s Paris-based DJ, Benoît de Villeneuve, we enjoyed an apero of top-notch craft cocktails and snacks with Paris’s top hoteliers and our partners. Good cheer and interesting conversation was shared by all.
The Next Chapter of SOCIETIES
First and foremost, a huge thank you to all our friends, clients, and partners who made the events so wonderful. We're thrilled with all the great feedback we've received and are looking forward to hosting more SOCIETIES events around the world in the near future. (We’ve already had requests to host SOCIETIES in Berlin, London, and New York!) We’re planning our next event for November in the French Alps, followed by one in New York City next year. We’re thrilled about this first edition of SOCIETIES here in Paris and plan to make it an annual event so if you weren’t able to attend this one, stay tuned.
