A turquoise water swimming pool with a view of the Mediterranean and the Corsican mountains, sun loungers arranged in the shade of a pergola, and even a small outdoor bar for an aperitif at sunset… All with the certainty of not being disturbed by children. The formula, offered by Sabrina to its tenants since 2016, is simple: the four guest rooms it manages in Haute-Corse are prohibited for minors. “Don’t see anything tendentious about it! specifies the 50-year-old right away, laughing. We simply offer a calm and peaceful travel experience, without children screaming or untimely diving into the swimming pool.”
On its site, the traveler is warned from the first line of description, which specifies that the aparthotel “reserved for adults and close to the beach” is a perfect place “for a romantic getaway or a trip with friends”. Surprising at first sight, this bias seems to seduce customers. “Many book here precisely because they are sure not to find children and to rest in peace. Some customers come back year after year just for this reason”, explains Sabrina. Alice, a general practitioner, has just tested the experience in these bed and breakfasts in Corsica, and fully assumes this new choice of holidays. “I have a life at 100 an hour, the holidays are the only time of relaxation when I can really pick up with my book at the edge of the water. I do not want to be disturbed by the children of others.”
For six years, the 30-year-old and her spouse have only traveled to certified establishments “adult only”. In Tunisia, Italy, or even Spain, the couple says they found “without any problem” hotels and rentals reserved for adults or vacationers over the age of 13 or 16. “In France, it’s more difficult, but some are starting to offer it,” says Alice. Jean-Pierre Mas, president of the travel companies union, confirms. “Very clearly, this trend is developing in France, under the influence in particular of customers from Anglo-Saxon countries, where it is very popular. It is still marginal, but there has been a slight increase in the phenomenon since the Covid “, he testifies, evaluating at “about 5%” the current share of reservation requests for establishments “without children”. Especially since the phenomenon does not only concern independent hoteliers: at Club Med, where structures entirely or partially reserved for adults have already existed for many years, product marketing manager Raphaëlle Chiapolino testifies to an “acceleration in demand” on this topic. “Where historically there were simple ‘Zen pools’ for adults, we are now developing ‘Zen spaces’ with a swimming pool, of course, but also a bar, a restaurant room, even accommodation reserved for adults”, explains- she.
On the platform of the travel agency Fram, holidaymakers can even, since 2019, tick the criterion “adult only” to refine their search for a stay, stuck between the filters “all inclusive”, “last minute”, “honeymoon” or “thalasso”. “There is a real public: since the pandemic, the number of requests on this specific criterion has increased by 20 to 25%”, assures L’Express Cyrille Fradin, deputy general manager of the group. On the website of the FairMoove agency, created in 2021, the same filter is offered to travelers, selected by “about 5%” of customers. According to the founder of the platform, Jean-Pierre Nadir, this criterion responds above all to “a new logic of specialization in the hotel industry”, in the same way as the development of eco-responsible establishments, focused on thalassotherapy, extreme sports activities or even vegan catering. “There is a demand, therefore there is an offer. The hotels have understood that they have to adapt”, he deciphers.
“They are conquered!”
In these structures, often reserved for a “top-of-the-range” clientele, the swimming pool adorned with barriers and multicolored slides is often replaced by a “swimming lane”, the unlimited buffet, by a more discreet restaurant with piano bar, and family activities through “extreme sport” outings or spa packages. “We favor calm, tranquility and well-being”, confides, for example, Ann Zender, owner of Villa St. Maxime, in Saint-Paul-de-Vence (Alpes-Maritimes), whose rooms are reserved since 2005 to customers over the age of 13. The concept, which until now appealed to a mainly foreign clientele, now attracts French holidaymakers. “With the Covid, we have a lot fewer American or Australian customers, and more and more locals who seem to appreciate this new way of resting”, she testifies.
The same results for Stuart and Sheila, owners of the Château de Lacomté, a four-star campsite located in the heart of the Causses du Quercy regional natural park and decreed “child-free” since 2009. “We were predicted bankruptcy, our neighbors or colleagues thought that we were giving up on three-quarters of the clientele. But we are almost always full”, says Stuart, delighted. Of British origin, the owner is almost surprised at the few establishments offering this selection criterion on French territory. “In the United Kingdom, 198 campsites are exclusively reserved for adults, and they are full all year round, he assures. The French still have a little trouble with the idea of limiting access to certain places. holidays for children… But, once they’ve tried it, they’re won over!”
“We dare to assume it”
Jean-Didier Urbain, sociologist specializing in tourism and anthropologist, is not surprised by such success. He also recalls that this trend of tourism without children is “much older than we think”. “From the beginning of the 2000s, the physical constraint linked to the closed doors of the big resorts or cruise ships has led to the creation of spaces and entertainment offers dedicated to children, or reserved for parents, he analyzes. Over time, this phenomenon has grown. What has changed in 2023 is that we dare to assume it, and that there is now a specific market for it.” The sociologist thus believes that the recent debates around parenthood, the mental load linked to the education of children or the place of the child in the couple would have largely contributed “to legitimizing this desire for holidays between adults, previously unavowable”.
“We are moving in the direction of a society driven by fragmentation: within the family structure itself, the couple is now considered as a full and independent cell, which requires its own time. There was a social norm that prevented this type of amorous selfishness, which tends to disappear.” At the same time, the anthropologist observes a slow acceptance of the figure of the childless couple, which now claims “entirely its place and its right to recognition”, including in public spaces and vacation spots. “Mass tourism, where we aggregated all family models in the same movement, no longer has its place, and this type of specialized offer therefore tends to multiply”, he summarizes. For sociologist Jean Viard, the concept of childless holidays does not, however, replace the traditional model of family leave. “It’s a new and clever product, but we must not forget that 70 to 80% of holidays remain within the family”, he nuances.
“Some see it as discrimination”
In Corsica, Sabrina admits that some customers are “a bit ticked off” about her offer of adult-only guest rooms. “Some see it as discrimination, others still try to book with the family, while our policy is written in black on white and extremely clear… It’s rare, but we sometimes hear small reflections”, says she. “France is a country with a policy that is still very family-oriented and pro-natalist, in which the view of couples who do not wish to have children or spend time with those of others, is evolving very slowly, analyzes Charlotte Debest, sociologist and author of the essay THE Choosing a Childless Life (Rennes University Press, 2014). There is a discourse that truly encourages the birth rate, which tries to demonstrate that it is possible to do everything with children: work, even telecommuting, rest, travel… It can therefore be complicated to assume, explicitly, that ‘there are places where children are not welcome.
From a legal point of view, the lawyer in tourism law and lecturer at the University of Paris I-Panthéon-Sorbonne Laurence Jégouzo also recalls that a hotelier does not have the right to refuse entry. of his establishment to families with children. The Penal Code recognizes as discrimination any “distinction made between natural persons on the basis of their origin, their sex, their family situation, their pregnancy, their physical appearance […]their age”. This discrimination, when it consists “in hindering the normal exercise of any economic activity whatsoever”, can even be punished by three years’ imprisonment and a fine of 45,000 euros. general and independently of this question, to avoid any lawsuit, it is therefore incumbent on hoteliers to provide the customer with clear and unequivocal information on the subject, so that the latter is made aware of it before booking and before signing. of the contract, to give him the choice to contract or not”, specifies Mᵉ Jégouzo.