SBM chief defends 10% annual price rises at Monaco's palace hotels
By Zak Jackson, MonacoViews Editorial
Stéphane Valeri, président-délégué of the SBM, says three consecutive years of 10% rate increases are justified by room renovations and service investment.
Stéphane Valeri, the président-délégué of the Société des Bains de Mer, has moved to justify a pricing strategy that has pushed average nightly rates at SBM properties up by 10% each year for the past three years. Speaking to Nice Matin, he argued that Monaco remains competitive when measured against comparable luxury destinations, pointing to Paris, Rome and New York as benchmarks where, in his view, the Principality's hotels still represent fair value.
Valeri's defence rests on two pillars: a sustained programme of room and suite refurbishment across the group's portfolio, which includes the Hôtel de Paris Monte-Carlo, the Hermitage and the Monte-Carlo Beach, and what he describes as an optimal level of service. The implication is that guests are not simply paying more for the same product but for a materially improved one.
For residents and property owners, the trajectory matters beyond the hotel industry itself. SBM's pricing signals the broader direction of Monaco's hospitality economy and feeds into the cost assumptions of corporate visitors, high-net-worth guests and the events ecosystem that surrounds the Grand Prix, the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters and other major fixtures. Whether the market absorbs a fourth consecutive 10% rise remains to be seen.