Page 69 - Livre Beau Rivage Palace
P. 69

Fig. 1           Fig. 2

 Château at 5 fr., Campart at 5 fr., Victoria at 5 fr., Grancy Villa at 4   and July only produces a small profit; the winter months produce barely   two establishments full and remaining full until the end of the autumn…  from 1935 – the belle époque remained the high point they tried
 fr. 50 and a number of other houses from 3 to 4 fr. It is therefore not   enough profit to cover the wear on the furniture and linen.’    The Société Immobilière d’Ouchy was not mistaken in choosing for the   desperately to emulate, but despite all their efforts, the closer they
 13
 surprising that we do not have any (sic) guests at a cost of 8 fr.50 all   Tschumi explored various avenues to solve this problem:   style of the fittings the most beautiful, the most comfortable and the most   thought they were getting to it, the further it retreated: ‘The days
 inclusive for board and lodging with a magnificent room overlooking the   the simplest was to close the hotel during the winter season and   elegant there is, even at the cost of considerable sacrifices.’ 15  are gone when our hotel was never empty from 1st January to 31st
 lake on any floor.’ 11  to dismiss the staff members. But the difficulty of re-hiring them   While the shareholders present could only be delighted with   December.’  This refrain was repeated year after year.
                                                                                  17
 The most obvious sign of this stress was the tense relationship   later was a serious obstacle because it was not at all certain that   these initial results, the management was hugely relieved: daring as   Certainties and uncertainties continued to alternate after the
 that developed as a consequence of the construction of the Château   they would be the same: ‘something not liked by the regular guests,   it had been, the gamble was paying off (fig. 2). Tschumi’s offensive   outbreak of the First World War. On the shores of Ouchy, their
 d’Ouchy in 1890, which emerged as a very serious competitor.  who want to see familiar faces’. 14  strategy had borne fruit. The figures show that this annexe gave   intensity redoubled, given tourism’s sensitivity to the slightest
 Contact was made with its owner, Jean-Jacques Mercier, with a   Another solution that was considered very seriously was   business a very strong impetus. There was a real surge: within   variations in the economy: ‘The general situation is so abnormal, the
 view to leasing it. After a few years of operation, the arrangement   that of renting a hotel at Cannes, the Hôtel Californie, with   three years, both the turnover and the occupancy rate practically   reactions of the public so variable, sometimes so unexpected, that, for an
 was terminated in 1896, as the low revenues made it unviable. 12  168 beds, a magnificent view over the sea and the islands, and a   doubled. In 1913, the dividend was fixed at 30 per cent! At the   industry like ours, we can only live from day to day, exercising prudence
                                                                                                    18
 All these preoccupations illustrate the complexity of   park planted with trees and bushes from hotter climes. Tschumi   same time, seen in a broader economic context, the Beau-Rivage   and hoping for better tomorrow.’  There were many causes for
 managing a hotel on the scale of the Beau-Rivage. While the   committed himself wholeheartedly to this initiative, which he   (now renamed the Beau-Rivage Palace), was profiting from   annoyance: the fluctuations in the exchange rate between Swiss
 industrie des étrangers, from the point of view of Switzerland as a   saw as an important source of revenue that would fill the gaps of   the prosperity, already noticeable at the end of the nineteenth   and foreign currencies that proved an obstacle to international
 whole, was entering a veritable boom, the management of the   the winter season and give the company financial stability. The   century, that was being enjoyed by all the industrialised countries.  travel, the formalities and complications for foreigners entering
 hotel in Lausanne was concerned about its future, given the local   lease was presented to the board of directors who, at the last   Relations between the Beau-Rivage Palace and the belle époque,  Switzerland, the tax requirements, railway fares, etc. Even a
 and international constraints. This first period, therefore, saw a   moment, refused to commit themselves because they saw too   while intense,  were very fruitful. The building of  the annexe   recourse to scientific methods was not enough to form a clear
 hotel endowed with undeniable qualities in terms of natural   many drawbacks. In the same vein, the Beau-Rivage purchased   amplified an effect, but was not the source of it. The decision to   picture: ‘We have been attempting for some time to draw some lessons
 environment, interior design and services, which all contributed   the Château de Renens and the adjoining alkaline spring in 1899,   build simply came at the best possible moment (fig. 3). Still, that   from the statistics that we carefully build up, and at each attempt the facts
 to its first-rate reputation, but which was faced with a fast-  reselling them in 1903. And the Élysée property was bought in   decision had to be made! Other Lausanne developers would not   contradict the expected figures in one direction or another. There are few
 changing commercial situation that it was only half able to   1904 and resold the following year.   have that chance,  because, fundamentally, the reasons why the   industries as sensitive as the hotel industry. The slightest rumour from a
                                 16
 control. Nonetheless, the Beau-Rivage attempted to respond to   The third solution was to enlarge the hotel, and this was   decision to build had been taken were still pending. Although the   political, health, economic or even simply fashion source makes travellers
 these setbacks with original solutions.  the one that was ultimately chosen. It was first envisaged as an   rise in occupancy was accompanied by a better spread throughout   change their plans, and a place that one year was packed is empty the
 There is no doubt that with the arrival of Jacques Tschumi at   extension of the existing building with the addition of a fifth   the year, the winter season did not attract as many guests to the   following year.’ 19
 the helm of the establishment in 1889, the Beau-Rivage entered   floor (fig. 1). Given the small increase in space this would have   Beau-Rivage Palace as the summer season. This would continue   This ongoing instability can be seen very clearly in the graph
 a period of reflection and questioning. His incontestable authority   produced, it was eventually decided to construct a new building.   to be grounds for complaint (table 2).  showing turnover and occupancy (table 1). The ups and downs
 was the stimulus for a fundamental discussion on the need for   The estimate came to more than 2 million francs. Planned in   These figures say a lot about the period of economic   echo the general trend in an era affected by sporadic crises: the
 a proper corporate strategy, which resulted in the building, in   1903, begun in 1905, suspended in the summer of 1906 due to   ebullience prior to  the  descent  into  the  dark  years  that were   rare periods of great activity: 1919, 1923, 1926-29 and 1936-39
 1908, of a second edifice at the side of the one built in 1861. This   the builders’ strike, and restarted in 1907, the works were finally   to follow. The awareness of a lost paradise constantly hung over   fell prey to the First World War, the slump of 1920-22, the further
 solution was not immediately obvious. It was the subject of intense   completed during the summer of 1908. The new building was   the consciousness of the generations who lived through those   recession of 1924-25, the 1930s slump and the Second World War.
 arguments and even caused rifts within the board of directors.  officially opened on 19 June 1908. The final bill amounted to   years and who from then on would come up against the harsh   These conditions did not encourage the management to embark
 At the heart of the whole problem, apart from the   more than 3 million francs.  realities of the repeated flare-ups of the first half of the twentieth   on any large-scale initiatives. They took a reactionary line and
 modernisation of a building that was beginning to date, was   century. Since they had taken the heyday of the belle époque as   adapted their business strategy to the circumstances. Above all,
 the uneven spread of guests at the hotel: ‘The hotel’s revenue is   1908-46: BETWEEN CERTAINTY AND UNCERTAINTY  their benchmark, they could not help but be disappointed by the   prudence acted as the guiding principle.  ‘Tourism is not dead;
 essentially made in the months of August, September and the first half   ‘The hotel Beau-Rivage Palace immediately found favour with foreign   results recorded afterwards. For many years, for the two managers   people are more restless than ever, but we have to face the evidence that
 of October; on average, the revenue from the months of April, May, June   travellers and after only a few weeks, we had the satisfaction of seeing our   who followed Tschumi – Otto Egli from 1912 and Werner Müller   tourists have totally changed their habits. Gone is the time when the

 Hôtel Beau-Rivage. Plans to modify the roof, south elevation, west elevation,   Ouchy Palace Hôtel, postcard, c.1910.
 January 1897. Théophile van Muyden architect.  In front of the building was an arcade of shops.



 68                                                                                                                           69
   64   65   66   67   68   69   70   71   72   73   74