More than a decade ago, French-born Benjamin Trigano opened the first Mama Shelter hotel alongside his father, Serge, and brother, Jérémie. Since its inception in France, the trendy boutique hotel brand has expanded to 12 cities in seven different countries, and has no plans of slowing down.
Your grandfather co-founded Club Med in the 1950s, and your father eventually joined the business. Mama Shelter, which you developed with him and your brother, is another kind of hospitality concept. What did you want to create?
Happiness. When you walk into a Mama you feel the warm and friendly spirit of the team. We always believed from day one that this brand would come together and be successful—not because we are geniuses, but because we thought our values were slightly different and [would align with] what people wanted. We judge our success not just by full rooms, but when locals have taken over the property.
Mama Shelter launched in 2008 with a Philippe Starck–designed hotel in the eastern suburbs of Paris. What was the biggest challenge?
The hotel world is capital intensive, and for the first Mama to come out of the ground it took a minute, because we were selling something unlike in our previous life. This wasn’t a resort. We wanted to open the hottest spot in Paris in an area most bankers hadn’t heard of.
There are so many lifestyle hotels out there now. How does Mama Shelter stand out?
Everything we do is in terms of making our environments fun and joyful. Other brands might have big-name chefs and slick design, but we push people together—the bar where you can see everybody, the communal dishes, the giant foosball table, the photo booth—instead of leaving them to their laptops. We want them to interact.
You recently opened three properties: Lille, France (designed by the late Jalil Amor), London, and Paris West (by Dion & Arles). What are some of the highlights?
Lille is located right by the train station and the architecture is almost like a cozy, little house. London is in the fantastic neighborhood of Hackney Road, and there we have our first karaoke room and a magical garden bar that has a British club vibe to it. Paris West is like Mama on steroids, with a spacious rooftop that has amazing city views.
Mama Shelter partnered with Accor in 2014. What are the brand’s expansion plans?
We have two openings this year in Luxembourg and Bahrain, then for 2021 it’s Lisbon, Rome, Dubai, Santiago, São Paulo, and Paris La Défense. In big cities, we like to be on the outskirts because there are more locals and artists. In the smaller cities we want to be towards the center, where the energy is.
Mama Shelter Paris West opened in late 2019
The rooftop at Mama Shelter’s West Paris outpost
