DESTINATION
"WHEN YOUWAKE UP HERE IN THE MIDDLE OF WINTER...
... IT'S AS IF YOU'VE GONE TO LAPLAND" In the hands of Patrick Delarive, who bought it in 2008, Whitepod has become a new reference: an eco-luxury
Patrick Delarive, a passionate multi-entrepreneur, acquired Whitepod in 2008 after falling in love with it and undergoing a change in outlook.
hotel that has grown from 500 visitors a year to 15,000 guests today. The establishment even shrugged off the health crisis, with an occupancy rate during this period of 92%: staggering figures compared to the Swiss hotel market.
I was touched by the concept and the couple who started it. At that time, I became more
produced bar of soap that avoids plastic packaging is one such product. Not offering orange juice for breakfast, but replacing it with locally-grown apricot juice is another. Even the fact of not having champagne or rosé from Provence because of their geographical distance is well accepted once the reason behind it has been explained.
Why did you get into the eco-hotel business in 2008?
aware: I was in the process of rehabilitating an industrial site in Vevey (Les Moulins de la Veveyse) to build 400 ecological housing units. I felt that we had to change the way we built. When I discovered this new approach to eco-tourism, I knew intuitively that it could only be successful. My modus operandi, which I apply to each of my projects, is to add “ value ” , to make it “ meaningful ” and also “ fun ” . We were there at the crossroads of the three.
I don’t think that laws and taxes are a good way to raise awareness and change behaviour. This type of micro-
Do you think eco-tourism will have a real impact on the environment?
initiative has an exemplary role to play. Today's luxury clientèle is tired of moving from a 5-star hotel in Paris to one in New York where they will have an identical experience. Coming here and hearing the sounds of the animals in the middle of the night is a great way to fill up on emotions and memories. When you wake up in one of the pods in the middle of winter, it's like being in Lapland. You are in the middle of nowhere, completely cut off from your daily life, discovering and feeling something really new. This concept has prompted us to set up a new hotel group, which will be presented shortly, in order to create similar amazing experiences, which our customers are so fond of, elsewhere in Switzerland. The D Hotel Group will provide this “ Definitely Different ” welcome.
No, I think it's about everything we offer: our guests come first and foremost to have an extraordinary experience and
Do the customers who come here do so for these environmental considerations?
we do everything we can to ensure that they come face to face with surprise effects throughout their stay. The view, the comfort, the attention to detail and level of service, and even the St. Bernard are part of it! However, there has been a real sense of increased awareness on the part of travellers in recent years: they want their stay to have meaning. The hotel team strives every day to set an example and to explain why it is important to opt for short, local supply chains in preference. The locally
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