Boutique Design - October 2018 - 86

NOT YOUR MAMA'S MOTEL
Serge Trigano was born to be a disruptor. It's in his blood. His
father, the late Gilbert Trigano, revolutionized the holiday
travel market when he and Belgian entrepreneur Gérard Blitz
introduced the world to a new kind of all-inclusive concept:
Club Méditerranée in 1950. With its beachfront tents and egalitarian attitude toward staff and guests, this escapist, unpretentious resort brand quickly grew into a global network of places
where adults could play.
Trigano fils's career path wasn't exactly a day at the beach.
He took over the reins as Club Med's president in 1993. Three
years later, after a partnership with Fiat's founders, the
Agnelli family, turned sour, he was ousted from the business.
This blessing in disguise gave him license to forge into new
territories beyond the confines of resort villages.
While Trigano may have inherited his knack for being the
consummate host and understanding that people want meaningful experiences more than name-droppable FF&E, his business acumen is strictly his own. After the Club Med door
closed, his intuition told him the party was moving somewhere
new, and he wanted to get there first. Trigano threw away the
rule book for homogenized mid-tier hotels and he, along with
his sons, Jérémie and Benjamin, wrote their own-one that
stated that design adventures are not just for the elite, that they
are for everyone; that they are urban and that they wouldn't cut
stylistic or operational corners because they didn't have 5-star
budgets. The result was Mama Shelter.
86

boutiquedesign.com october 2018

Born in the City of Light with the 2008 opening of its first
property, the Paris-based Mama Shelter group has grown into a
flourishing family of eight locations. Trigano's current goal is 20
hotels worldwide by 2020. This year is making that look doable,
with a Belgrade property that came on line in March, another
that debuted in Prague in June, and a Toulouse property set to
open in November.
So, what's the magic? Each "sibling" has its own persona, yet
retains a shared brand DNA. Okay, that's been done before. But,
Trigano went a step further by shaping that consistency
around broad principles such as the requirement to commission local artists to create wall murals that wrap onto ceilings,
but also layering it into details, including the standard "babyfoot" ( foosball) tables featured in each hotel. Though worldrenowned interior designer Philippe Starck (who helped launch
the brand) left in 2014 when Accor acquired a 35% share of the
group, the inhouse team (which now oversees all the hotels'
design work) continues to evolve his signature approach of
using inexpensive materials in creative ways to make a wow
impression with a tight budget.
As vibrant as the ambience is, Mama Shelter isn't just
another hipster scene. Trigano is quick to point out, "We are
not a 'lifestyle' hotel where people must act a certain way.
Mama Shelter is a place where grandkids and grandparents,
all cultures and all races are welcome." The design strategy
embraces this attitude. A kaleidoscope of colorful patterns in
wall-less spaces infuse an energy that encourages guests to

JÉRÉMIE, SERGE and
BEnJaMIn TRIGanO
MAMA SHELTER

2 Mama Shelter Belgrade's
guestrooms and suites
demonstrate that clever
designs don't have to be
tamed by restricted budgets.
Elements like this formmeets-function divider
would add interest-and an
Instagrammable moment-
to far pricier digs.

F r a n c i s a m i a n d ( m a m a s H E LT E r ) ; J B m O n d i n O ( T r i G a n O s )

http://www.boutiquedesign.com

Boutique Design - October 2018

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Boutique Design - October 2018