Will the France destination (finally) have a portal of promotion worthy of its name?
This is at least the ambition of Le Bon Guide, a new website launched ceremoniously this Wednesday June 17th.
No doubt that with all the little fairies that looked over its crib, the Bon Guide has all of the advantages necessary to succeed.
Indeed, it was officially baptized at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, under the supervision of Laurent Fabius.
Guillaume Pépy, the head of the SNCF and Dominique Desseigne, CEO of the hotel group Barrière, took the stage to celebrate this tool promoting France.
Christian Mantéi, the director of Atout France as well as Matthias Fekl, the State Secretary in charge of tourism, also attended the event.
This is at least the ambition of Le Bon Guide, a new website launched ceremoniously this Wednesday June 17th.
No doubt that with all the little fairies that looked over its crib, the Bon Guide has all of the advantages necessary to succeed.
Indeed, it was officially baptized at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, under the supervision of Laurent Fabius.
Guillaume Pépy, the head of the SNCF and Dominique Desseigne, CEO of the hotel group Barrière, took the stage to celebrate this tool promoting France.
Christian Mantéi, the director of Atout France as well as Matthias Fekl, the State Secretary in charge of tourism, also attended the event.
Gather all of France's offer on a single website
Le Bon Guide hopes to succeed where everybody else failed: gather all of the French touristic offer and provide professionals a quasi-free window to promote themselves.
“We are going to proceed a bit like Le Bon Coin. Professionals will be able to upload their posting to present their activity. And if they want more visibility they will be able to pay,” explains Antoine Hermite, Executive Director of the website.
The platform also wants to use the expertise of these hoteliers, restaurant owners, and tourism offices to recommend great deals in their respective regions.
In the long run, close to 6,000 accommodations will be able to be reserved directly or via partner reservation points.
Le Bon Guide expects to pay itself through advertisements, like a traditional media, as well as through memberships purchased by tourism professionals.
However, the director promises to not take a commission like American OTAs. “It will be in the best interest of service providers to offer the lowest rates on our website,” he adds.
“We are going to proceed a bit like Le Bon Coin. Professionals will be able to upload their posting to present their activity. And if they want more visibility they will be able to pay,” explains Antoine Hermite, Executive Director of the website.
The platform also wants to use the expertise of these hoteliers, restaurant owners, and tourism offices to recommend great deals in their respective regions.
In the long run, close to 6,000 accommodations will be able to be reserved directly or via partner reservation points.
Le Bon Guide expects to pay itself through advertisements, like a traditional media, as well as through memberships purchased by tourism professionals.
However, the director promises to not take a commission like American OTAs. “It will be in the best interest of service providers to offer the lowest rates on our website,” he adds.
A portal supported by a large group of media
A great turnout of official celebrities during the presentation of Bon Guide. DR-F. Bitouzet @B2zet
Contrarily to previous experiences, like the late Hexatourisme, the Bon Guide has the means to match its ambitions.
Supported by the group Webedia, that belongs to the investment company Fimalac, it has invested between 10 and 20 million euros in its development in 5 years and hopes to attain profitability between now and 18 months.
“We are aiming at 2 million unique visitors, or around 10% of the audience of all of the group’s websites. And we’re expecting to open international versions in English, German, Spanish, Italian, and Dutch by the end of the year,” adds Antoine Hermite.
Webedia recently made the buzz when it bought out Easyvoyage.
The company of Jean-Pierre Nadir is soon going to integrate the group by maintaining its identity for now.
“Webedia is used to keeping the brands that it buys out, especially since Easyvoyage enjoys a strong popularity on the French market,” assures Antoine Hermite.
However, editorial and technological synergies will need to be put in place. A reassuring announcement for the few employees of Easyvoyage who were attending the inauguration.
Supported by the group Webedia, that belongs to the investment company Fimalac, it has invested between 10 and 20 million euros in its development in 5 years and hopes to attain profitability between now and 18 months.
“We are aiming at 2 million unique visitors, or around 10% of the audience of all of the group’s websites. And we’re expecting to open international versions in English, German, Spanish, Italian, and Dutch by the end of the year,” adds Antoine Hermite.
Webedia recently made the buzz when it bought out Easyvoyage.
The company of Jean-Pierre Nadir is soon going to integrate the group by maintaining its identity for now.
“Webedia is used to keeping the brands that it buys out, especially since Easyvoyage enjoys a strong popularity on the French market,” assures Antoine Hermite.
However, editorial and technological synergies will need to be put in place. A reassuring announcement for the few employees of Easyvoyage who were attending the inauguration.
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