It has now been 46 days since the chambermaids of Maison Albar-L’imperator, a five-star hotel (54 rooms and seven villas) located in the heart of Nîmes, on the Quai de la Fontaine, began a slow, intermittent strike.
Eight employees are involved: the five permanent staff, plus three temporary workers.
David Goslin, the CGT delegate standing with the strikers, protests. “The movement started with an initial day of strike on July 26. The first negotiation meeting only took place at the end of August, and it yielded nothing, just like the second. We are waiting for a third negotiating session but the strike has now been going on since September 18.”
The demands of these chambermaids who are paid around €1,400 per month for full-time work?
An hourly increase of 87 cents. That would bring the gross hourly rate to €13.17, up from €12.31 currently. That equates to roughly €133 gross per month for a full-time position. But, the CGT insists, that amounts to less than €100 net per month.
However, “management told us that this raise would put the establishment at risk“, adds David Goslin with indignation.
Maison Albar is a brand of the Centaurus group. Founded in 2020 by Jean-Bernard Falco, Céline Falco (born Albar), and Grégory Pourrin—with the support of a financial partner, Oaktree—it is a French independent hotel group positioned in the upscale segment. It has developed a collection of 15 properties with a strong identity, emphasizing a personalized approach to hospitality.
Eight employees are involved: the five permanent staff, plus three temporary workers.
David Goslin, the CGT delegate standing with the strikers, protests. “The movement started with an initial day of strike on July 26. The first negotiation meeting only took place at the end of August, and it yielded nothing, just like the second. We are waiting for a third negotiating session but the strike has now been going on since September 18.”
The demands of these chambermaids who are paid around €1,400 per month for full-time work?
An hourly increase of 87 cents. That would bring the gross hourly rate to €13.17, up from €12.31 currently. That equates to roughly €133 gross per month for a full-time position. But, the CGT insists, that amounts to less than €100 net per month.
However, “management told us that this raise would put the establishment at risk“, adds David Goslin with indignation.
Maison Albar is a brand of the Centaurus group. Founded in 2020 by Jean-Bernard Falco, Céline Falco (born Albar), and Grégory Pourrin—with the support of a financial partner, Oaktree—it is a French independent hotel group positioned in the upscale segment. It has developed a collection of 15 properties with a strong identity, emphasizing a personalized approach to hospitality.
“Our health is being put to the test”
Arguing that their “health is being put to the test” due to a “defective organization”, the chambermaids of Maison Albar-L’imperator are demanding more staff and better working conditions,]b
They have to handle worn-out equipment and trolleys weighing up to a hundred kilograms, they say. It also happens that these workers must prepare up to 12 rooms a day. And they add: the pace is too fast to ready the rooms before 3 p.m., and taking lunch breaks is difficult.
Additionally, the PREVY consultancy—which assists companies and their staff in preventing occupational risks, medical follow-up, and improving working conditions—has noted in a report that the working conditions of the chambermaids and the equipment provided to them “can cause pain, and foster musculoskeletal disorders”.
They have to handle worn-out equipment and trolleys weighing up to a hundred kilograms, they say. It also happens that these workers must prepare up to 12 rooms a day. And they add: the pace is too fast to ready the rooms before 3 p.m., and taking lunch breaks is difficult.
Additionally, the PREVY consultancy—which assists companies and their staff in preventing occupational risks, medical follow-up, and improving working conditions—has noted in a report that the working conditions of the chambermaids and the equipment provided to them “can cause pain, and foster musculoskeletal disorders”.
So far, negotiations have been brief and unproductive
The management has not remained idle in response to the chambermaids’ movement. But its proposals — a 1% raise for all staff starting in January 2027 — were deemed insufficient by the strikers.
In parallel, denounces David Goslin, this management “has rotated about ten managers who are normally assigned to other tasks at the Centaurus group headquarters to do – and poorly – the work of the striking employees“.
More recently, still according to the CGT, the hotel management would have turned to “temporary workers recruited to work at the bar” to clean and restore rooms.
These practices are illegal and constitute an obstacle to the right to strike, asserts the CGT. Nicolas Viala, the CSE secretary, and David Goslin, the CGT delegate, have moreover taken the matter to the labor inspectorate. The inspectorate, in a letter dated October 27 addressed to the hotel’s management, “analyzes the described situation as a non-profit labor loan between companies”.
If this loan is not prohibited, it nevertheless, under Article L.8241-2 of the Labor Code, requires adherence to very precise rules: agreement of the employee involved, drafting in very precise terms of a loan-for-use agreement between the lending and user companies, drafting an amendment to the employment contract signed by the employee concerned…
Not forgetting informing and consulting the Works Council. Was this the case? asks the Inspector in a letter.
In any event, the labor inspectorate clearly did not follow Romaric Blanvillain’s interpretation, the hotel’s general manager, that there would have been no labor loan, Centaurus Hospitality Management ensuring the hotel’s direction and management on behalf of Maison Albar, under a management mandate.
In parallel, denounces David Goslin, this management “has rotated about ten managers who are normally assigned to other tasks at the Centaurus group headquarters to do – and poorly – the work of the striking employees“.
More recently, still according to the CGT, the hotel management would have turned to “temporary workers recruited to work at the bar” to clean and restore rooms.
These practices are illegal and constitute an obstacle to the right to strike, asserts the CGT. Nicolas Viala, the CSE secretary, and David Goslin, the CGT delegate, have moreover taken the matter to the labor inspectorate. The inspectorate, in a letter dated October 27 addressed to the hotel’s management, “analyzes the described situation as a non-profit labor loan between companies”.
If this loan is not prohibited, it nevertheless, under Article L.8241-2 of the Labor Code, requires adherence to very precise rules: agreement of the employee involved, drafting in very precise terms of a loan-for-use agreement between the lending and user companies, drafting an amendment to the employment contract signed by the employee concerned…
Not forgetting informing and consulting the Works Council. Was this the case? asks the Inspector in a letter.
In any event, the labor inspectorate clearly did not follow Romaric Blanvillain’s interpretation, the hotel’s general manager, that there would have been no labor loan, Centaurus Hospitality Management ensuring the hotel’s direction and management on behalf of Maison Albar, under a management mandate.
The hotel director accused by the CGT
The CGT’s criticisms also target the management and practices of Romaric Blanvillain, the hotel’s general manager.
Since his arrival about three years ago, as David Goslin explains, this general manager lives at the hotel’s expense, occupying a room most of the time.
Always according to the CGT delegate, “this practice amounts to a fringe benefit that should be declared to the tax authorities. Has it been done?“
“It’s up to the taxes and URSSAF to dig into this file,” he snaps, before lamenting “the significant revenue losses of the hotel since he (the current general manager) arrived.”
Since his arrival about three years ago, as David Goslin explains, this general manager lives at the hotel’s expense, occupying a room most of the time.
Always according to the CGT delegate, “this practice amounts to a fringe benefit that should be declared to the tax authorities. Has it been done?“
“It’s up to the taxes and URSSAF to dig into this file,” he snaps, before lamenting “the significant revenue losses of the hotel since he (the current general manager) arrived.”
A conflict harming Maison Albar’s image
As the conflict drags on, the CGT says it has requested mediation from the Gard prefecture, via the labor inspectorate. And also a meeting with the mayor of Nîmes reportedly scheduled for Friday, November 6.
Of course, TourMaG has tried to obtain the Centaurus Hospitality Management group’s side, but yesterday we hit a wall of refusal.
“The group does not wish to comment on this matter, which is under internal discussions”, Maxime Dobremel, the group’s Communications Manager, told us by email.
In the absence of obtaining this perspective, we must note that the conflict is damaging Maison Albar Hotels’ brand image, and this is all the more true if, according to the CGT, “there are currently no customers at the hotel or its restaurant”.
The difficulties raised by the chambermaids seem at least difficult to reconcile with the very high-end positioning of this hotel brand.
Of course, TourMaG has tried to obtain the Centaurus Hospitality Management group’s side, but yesterday we hit a wall of refusal.
“The group does not wish to comment on this matter, which is under internal discussions”, Maxime Dobremel, the group’s Communications Manager, told us by email.
In the absence of obtaining this perspective, we must note that the conflict is damaging Maison Albar Hotels’ brand image, and this is all the more true if, according to the CGT, “there are currently no customers at the hotel or its restaurant”.
The difficulties raised by the chambermaids seem at least difficult to reconcile with the very high-end positioning of this hotel brand.
