At the helm of OKKO Hotels, Solenne Ojea Devys embodies a new generation of hotel managers keen to align their business with strong values. Under her leadership, the brand has adopted the status of a mission-driven company, confirming its commitment to a more sustainable and responsible hotel model. In this interview with Hospitality ON, she talks about her vision, the current challenges facing the sector and OKKO Hotels’ ambitions for the years ahead.
Hospitality ON : Was this mission-driven orientation a way of making OKKO Hotels, founded by Olivier Devys, your own?
Solenne Ojea Devys : More than a question of appropriation, it was a question of thinking about how I could align the company with my values and my vision of the world. A company is also the expression of its leader’s vision, and I hadn’t anticipated just how true this could be. Passing on a family business is a balance between continuity and adapting to one’s own aspirations, without denying or distorting what has gone before.
Hospitality ON : The hotel industry has changed significantly since OKKO Hotels was founded in 2014. How are you adapting your strategy in the face of these changes?
Solenne Ojea Devys : The sector has indeed been transformed in ten years. Our CSR challenges for 2025 are radically different from those of 2014. We must constantly adapt, and our strategy is based on three pillars: consolidating our existing practices in each hotel, and going further in certain strategic areas.
We have already trained 100% of our employees, which is a major step forward. We will now develop a specific training program for hoteliers. With regard to soft mobility, our objective is to increase the rate of use from 8% to 20% by 2025. Finally, we are going to structure a purchasing policy with strong CSR criteria. The aim is to identify the percentage of our suppliers and partners who meet standards such as EcoVadis, B Corp or companies with a mission, so as to have a solid basis for progress.
Hospitality ON : You make little mention of carbon footprints. What is your position on this subject?
Solenne Ojea Devys : We have carried out our carbon footprint and have a clear trajectory. Many actions have already been implemented, such as the fight against food waste and waste sorting. What remains to be worked on is the sourcing of our purchases, which is an essential lever for reducing our environmental impact.
Hospitality ON : OKKO Hotels is a forerunner in these matters. What role would you like to play in the hotel industry?
Solenne Ojea Devys : We were among the first to adopt the status of mission-driven company, when very few players in the industry had done so. But it’s not about being the first, it’s about getting the whole sector to evolve. Isolated, we won’t have enough impact. So we want to share all our actions and best practices openly, and I spend a lot of time taking part in round-table discussions to encourage other hoteliers to get involved. The idea is to demonstrate that certain actions are accessible, feasible and profitable in the long term.
Hospitality ON : You set up the “A hotel for my parents” initiative. What is your feedback and ambitions for this project?
Solenne Ojea Devys : It’s a scheme that illustrates our social commitment. Ecology is an issue we have all learned to deal with, but the social stakes are more complex. This project was conceived in partnership with the Fondation Comyces pour l’Enfance, which had anticipated all the operational and fiscal obstacles. This enabled us to rapidly offer 200 free nights per year in each of our Paris hotels, for a total of 1,000 nights for the families concerned. The scheme has been very well received by our teams, who are proud to see their commitment rewarded by a direct and positive impact. We now hope that other players in the hotel industry will follow suit.
