Images courtesy of Château Voltaire and Lucas Bigel
The travel industry is a human-centered business. When you join our community, you join a network of passionate, eclectic, travel-obsessed individuals who love what they do — and who are eager to spread that love.
Lucas Bigel, the sales manager of Château Voltaire, a Fora Reserve partner in Paris, is one such individual. Everyone at Fora HQ looks forward to his wide smile, contagious positive energy and evident passion for his job.
We love putting a friendly face to the name, especially for our favorite partners. (Check out our community spotlights of Wendi Yip, Yina Munoz and Annarita Aprea, some of our other favorite partners.) Read on to learn Lucas’ story.
Our Fora community is pretty special. Want to get in on the love? Sign up to become an advisor today.
From an early age, Lucas leaned into his innate passions
Lucas touting the beauty of Château Voltaire
Job titles may change over the years, but there’s often a through line that emerged from a natural predilection in childhood. Lucas has always loved interacting with people, and got started at an early age.
“My grandparents came from Italy in the 70s and bought a cute little brasserie in the countryside of France,” he said. “I grew up with them and my parents in the kitchen.”
His grandmother Giuseppina was an early role model, he said — his first mentor. In fact, he aspired to grow up to be a chef, just like her.
His desire to become a chef led him to enroll, at 13, at a hospitality school in Nancy, France. The curriculum exposed him to the world of hotels.
“My teachers are an important part of why I am here now, as they’ve instilled in me their passion,” he said. “I always knew I wanted to be in a service-related job. It was a perfect match when I had the first connection with a guest. I've always loved being close to people and doing my best to create wonderful moments.”
Lucas trained in several restaurants and hotels around France, eventually ending up at Château Voltaire during its pre-opening stage. He worked its front desk, and, two-and-a-half years after it officially opened, became its sales manager.
“I love talking about what I love, and it is now my job!” he said.
The people make all the difference in the world of hospitality
Image courtesy of Château Voltaire
Lucas' favorite part of his job is, unsurprisingly, giving guests that special experience all travelers crave: something special, personal and memorable.
“I love this quote from Maya Angelou that exactly reflects what hospitality is to me,” he said. “‘People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”’
Anyone who has had the pleasure of interacting with Lucas comes away feeling great, of course. He’s warm, kind, smiley and delightfully easy to talk to. And anyone lucky enough to stay at Château Voltaire is in for a feel-good treat.
The handsome boutique property is located on a side street on the Right Bank, a short walk from the Louvre and its Jardin des Tuileries. The decor is chic and tastefully restrained. The service is hyper-individualized: enjoy a private training session or yoga class, book an in-room massage treatment. Special requests are highly encouraged (the concierge team is excellent).
What distinguishes a good hotel from a great one? (And Château Voltaire is a great one.)
“The humans involved are the difference!” Lucas said, adding that the best hotels are those “where every person involved in the project has the same passion for our industry and works together in the same way.”
The result?
“It creates a beautiful symbiosis between the staff and the clients, as the service should be focused on human relations before anything,” he said.
As one can imagine, this symbiosis requires a lot of hard work. Luckily, Lucas enjoys the work, but he also makes sure he takes some much-deserved time for himself.
“I am a party guy!” he shared when asked how he recharges outside of work. “I love to catch up with friends and dance all night with good music.”
He also loves connecting with his original passion, the spark that propelled his hospitality journey.
“I love to recharge by cooking for my loved ones,” he said, “and doing yoga at home!”
Lucas loves what he does, however, and isn’t going anywhere. He envisions himself staying in the hospitality industry for a while, most likely in Paris, and maybe in New York.
“I like to take everything that is coming to me and enjoy what I can attract,” he said. “I am waiting to see what the future holds.”
Fora Perks at Château Voltaire:
VIP welcome amenities.
Complimentary wine and tapas at the hotel’s restaurant.
Breakfast daily.
Upgrade & extended check-in/out whenever possible.
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