Newsletter: February 2026
Editor’s Note
Welcome back to another month of insights from our team. You may notice a refreshed look to the newsletter— with the start of the year, we’ve taken the opportunity to evolve the visual identity of Junior IMHI alongside the growth of our network and the expansion of our work. These changes reflect where we are today—and where we’re heading.
Here’s to continued learning, increasingly ambitious projects, and the steady growth of a dedicated team committed to sharing thoughtful, relevant expertise across the hospitality ecosystem.
Valentine’s Day in Paris
From “Dinner for two” to a Designed Experience
At Maison Atica, Valentine’s Day is a journey—designed for modern couples drawn to immersive storytelling, transformation, and discovery.
Valentine’s Day remains one of the most commercially intense moments of the year for Parisian hospitality. But beyond full dining rooms and sold-out tables, it has become a revealing stress test of concepts, storytelling, and operational clarity.
This year, what’s working best is not excess, but intention. Couples are increasingly drawn to experiences, not simply menus: immersive dinners (such as ATICA, positioned as a “sensorial journey through time and space”), chef-led narratives, wine or scent pairings, private salons, or formats that extend beyond the table itself (think Ducasse sur Seine, or exclusive in-hotel experiences booked on the site every luxury hotel manager should know, Sezame). The most successful concepts share a common trait: a clearly designed emotional arc, from anticipation to memory.
What’s struggling, by contrast, are generic executions. Identical prix-fixe menus, predictable décor, and last-minute “Saint-Valentin offers” compete in an already saturated field with little differentiation. In a city like Paris, where choice is effectively infinite, sameness is the real risk.
Another noticeable shift: guests are planning earlier and accepting higher price points when value is experiential rather than transactional. The dinner is no longer the product; it is the centerpiece of a broader moment designed to be shared, photographed, and remembered. At Madame Brasserie, located on the first floor of the Eiffel Tower, pricing varies by as much as €65 depending on table placement—center of the room versus unobstructed window views—underscoring how spatial experience directly translates into perceived value. At the aforementioned Duasse sur Seine, a 5-course Valetine’s day menu with wine-pairing will set you back €560
For hospitality operators, Valentine’s Day is no longer just a revenue peak. It is a strategic lens, highlighting the growing importance of concept clarity, cross-disciplinary thinking (food, design, narrative), and operational finesse under pressure.
In one image
A historic first for the Winter Olympics.
Milano Cortina 2026 debuts official, expertly crafted hospitality packages, signaling the arrival of experiential, luxury hospitality at the heart of global sporting events.
In One Number
60 seconds.
That’s all it took for the Noma Los Angeles residency to sell out: four months, 130 staff, $1,500 per seat—gone instantly. Place-specific cuisine, chef-led storytelling (by René Redzepi), wellness-adjacent rituals, and radical scarcity are redefining what guests are willing to pay for.
We Breathe Hospitality
Weekly exchanges with industry leaders, insights from hospitality experts, private hotel visits, cross-sector project work, and a growing international alumni network—at ESSEC IMHI, hospitality isn’t just what we study. It’s how we think, analyze, and operate.
We are always eager to engage in new projects and conversations. If you’re looking for thoughtful, fast, and grounded recommendations—rooted in methodical data analysis and on-the-ground industry exposure—don’t hesitate to reach out or follow us on LinkedIn.
Thank you for the trust you place in our team. We wish you a strong month ahead—and raise a glass to those who quietly, thoughtfully, and deliberately bring hospitality to life.
