Created back in 1996 by Jacques Horovitz, the Châteauform’ group set out right from the start to work exclusively on the corporate meeting and seminar market. Boasting about 30 sites in France, Switzerland, Italy, Spain and Belgium, the properties only handle that type of business and refuse all other clientele, whether groups or weddings. It seems to be a successful concept, as there are several clients, ranging from small or medium sized enterprises to multinationals listed on the CAC 40 index, who have become loyal converts to the Châteauform’ model. The idea is that guests are invited to “make themselves at home” in a luxury bed and breakfast environment. The other plus as far as the client is concerned is that the rate quoted is fully inclusive and so there are no added extras when the final bill comes through.

Fully inclusive covers the accommodation, meals based on local produce, snacks, high tea, wine with meals, aperitifs, a bar for other drinks, refreshment breaks, fully-equipped meeting rooms, WiFi, telephone calls within France, fax and internet access, as well as a whole range of sports or leisure activities such as badminton, French billiards, themed cookery classes, fishing, French boules, tennis, table-tennis and much more besides… Another attraction is the fact that each site is for the exclusive use of the client and can be decorated in company colours!

Châteauform’ has been operational in the Rhône-Alpes since 2005, with the acquisition of the Château de Faverges de la Tour in the Isère, and has just added a second site at Dareizé in the Beaujolais. La Maison des Contes, as it is known, has been renovated throughout. The work took a year to complete and the property now offers 57 bedrooms, 18 meeting rooms with capacity for between 4 and 90 people and extensive grounds of 33 hectares where clients can enjoy mountain biking, archery or orienteering.

“Located just 35 minutes from Lyon, this property mainly targets companies based in the western suburbs of Lyon and the area around Villefranche, indeed those companies that would rather not have to travel through Lyon to get to Faverges de la Tour”, explains Charlotte Sarrazin, client relations manager for the Rhône-Alpes region. “Most of the seminars that we organise at both sites seem to focus on training and incentive. They usually involve about 20 people and as far as Faverges de la Tour is concerned, our occupancy rate over the year reaches about 70%”.

During the low season, from 1^st January to 2 May, 5 July to 22 August and from 1^st November to 31^st December, the fully-inclusive rate for a 24-hour stay comes to 225 € (ex VAT) per participant. In high season it works out at 280 € (ex VAT).