Vatel France

What Vatel France does

Vatel France is the French operating entity (INSTITUT VATEL SAS) of the family-owned Vatel Group, a hospitality and tourism management education business founded in 1981 by Alain Sebban in Paris. It runs six physical campuses across France — Paris (La Défense since September 2025), Lyon (headquarters), Nîmes, Bordeaux, Nantes, and Lyon-Marcy l'Étoile — enrolling approximately 2,400 management-track students plus 100 apprentices, delivered through RNCP-certified Bachelor (Level 6) and MBA (Level 7) programs taught in French or English, plus vocational tracks in culinary arts, pastry, and restaurant service via apprenticeship contracts.

The institution's core delivery model is experiential learning: students train inside operational 4-star hotels, gourmet and bistronomic restaurants, cafés, bars, pastry laboratories, and training kitchens that double as revenue-generating F&B venues (Vatel restaurant, Les Tables Vatel, Café Carnot, Arômes Bar, Le Potager). Curriculum is delivered via the Aimaira intranet portal and Moodle LMS, with a Wine & Spirits MBA specialization at Bordeaux offering WSET Levels 2 & 3 certifications and 319 employer partner establishments (57% France, 43% international).

Revenue is generated primarily through recurring tuition fees (€9,600-€12,500/year for management programs, with €450 annual registration), supplemented by apprenticeship funding routed through French OPCO bodies, on-site F&B transactions, and centralized internship-placement services that match students to a network of 50,000 alumni across 32 countries. The institution maintains Qualiopi certifications across all main campuses, GDPR-compliant operations, and European Ecolabel/Green Food® sustainability credentials, with go-to-market executed through website applications, open days (Portes Ouvertes), and student fairs (Salons).

Name

Vatel France

Legal name

INSTITUT VATEL

Website

https://vatel.fr

Company type

Private

Founded year

1981

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Vatel France (INSTITUT VATEL SAS) is a private French hospitality management education group operating six campuses and ~2,500 students, delivering RNCP-certified Bachelor and MBA programs plus vocational culinary training through experiential learning in operational hotels and restaurants, serving prospective hospitality students and industry employers.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Hospitality Management Education

NAICS

Technical and Trade Schools (6115), Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools (611310), All Other Schools and Instruction (61169)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Hospitality, Tourism & Sports Management Schools (within Business Schools) (EDAHAHAL)

akta.pro secondary industries

Professional Culinary Arts (Chef Training) (EDAOAKAA), Bar & Beverage (Bartending/Mixology/Coffee/Tea) (EDAOAKAH), Institutional & Commercial Kitchen Training (Schools/Healthcare/Corporate) (EDAOAKAL)

Keywords

• Hospitality management education
• Hotel management school
• Culinary arts training
• Vocational apprenticeship programs
• Tourism management degrees

Headquarters

HQ city

Lyon

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices6 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Tuition Fees: Vatel generates revenue primarily through tuition fees charged to students for management programs (Bachelor and MBA) and technical/vocational programs. Fees vary by citizenship status (French/EU vs non-EU) and program type (full-time vs apprenticeship).
2. Apprenticeship Funding: Vocational programs at Vatel Academy (Lyon-Marcy l'Étoile) are covered through apprenticeship contracts, with tuition fees covered by OPCO (Opérateur de Compétences) and apprentices receiving a salary according to the official apprenticeship wage scale.
3. On-site Food & Beverage Operations: Revenue from operating restaurants (Vatel gastronomic restaurant, Les Tables Vatel, Le Potager, Avenir Gourmet Restaurant), cafés (Café Vatel, Café Carnot, Arômes Bar and Tea Room), and event spaces that serve as both training facilities and commercial operations.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Vatel France is a hospitality management education institution offering Bachelor (3-year, RNCP Level 6) and MBA (2-year, RNCP Level 7) programs in hotel and tourism management across six French campuses, alongside vocational apprenticeship programs in Culinary & Pastry Arts, CAP Pâtissier, and Restaurant Service through Vatel Academy. Education is delivered in French or English via full-time or apprenticeship formats, with hands-on training in operational 4-star hotels, gourmet restaurants, bistronomic restaurants, bars, training kitchens, and pastry laboratories that serve real customers.

Product overview

Vatel France is a hospitality management education group offering a comprehensive portfolio of vocational and higher education programs. The portfolio comprises two main tracks: (1) Technical/Vocational programs under Vatel Academy at Lyon-Marcy l'Étoile, including Culinary & Pastry Arts (3 years), CAP Pâtissier (1 year), and Restaurant Service (3 years), all delivered via apprenticeship; and (2) Management programs under Vatel Business School across six campuses (Paris, Lyon, Nîmes, Bordeaux, Nantes, Lyon-Marcy l'Étoile), offering a 3-year Bachelor (RNCP Level 6) and a 2-year MBA (RNCP Level 7), with the Bordeaux campus featuring a specialized MBA in Wine & Spirits. Programs are taught in French or English and available in full-time or apprenticeship formats. Additionally, VAE (Validation des Acquis de l'Expérience) supports professionals seeking certification through prior experience.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Programme Bachelor

Quantifiable outcome

• Vatel Bordeaux employment rate: 97% for Bachelor graduates, 96% for MBA graduates (2023-2024)
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers13 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.

• Silpakorn University (Thailand)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 1992First international Vatel program contract, signed in 2002 after Henri Magne conducted market study with French Embassy and Edufrance. This partnership opened doors to international expansion, leading to 16 Vatel schools worldwide within a decade.
• EURHODIP (International Association for Education and Training in Tourism and Hospitality)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerVatel Group, led by Alain Sebban, co-founded EURHODIP in 1989 with directors of Europe's leading hotel schools. Alain Sebban served as President from 2002-2011. EURHODIP has 150 member schools across 39 countries and manages Eurhoqual quality label accreditation and annual conference themes.
• InterContinental Bordeaux Le Grand HôtelmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerLuxury hotel partnership providing student internship and training opportunities. The hotel includes Le Pressoir d'Argent Gordon Ramsay (2 Michelin stars) and is part of the prestigious partner establishment network at Vatel Bordeaux.
• Restaurants du Chef Philippe EtchebestmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with Michelin-starred chef Philippe Etchebest's establishments including Maison Nouvelle (2 stars) and La Table d'Hôtes du Quatrième Mur (1 star), providing exclusive training opportunities for Vatel Bordeaux students.
• Bordeaux Métropole Hotel ClubcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerProfessional network partnership connecting Vatel Bordeaux with local hospitality industry, supporting student placement and industry relations in the Bordeaux metropolitan area.
• Bordeaux Tourist OfficeminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with Bordeaux Tourist Office for student exposure to tourism industry operations and potential collaborative events.
• H+ Formation InitiativeminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerVatel Academy Lyon participates in H+ Training quality initiative for welcoming people with disabilities into training, created by Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Region in partnership with Agefiph. Over 300 structures are registered in this initiative.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves12 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Glion Institute of Higher Education: Swiss hospitality management school with Bachelor, MBA, and MSc programs. Operates within the same premium Swiss hospitality education segment and competes for international student enrollment.
• César Ritz Colleges Switzerland: Swiss hospitality school offering Bachelor and Master programs in hospitality and tourism management. Competes in the same premium segment with similar international student demographics and experiential learning emphasis.
• Ferrandi Paris: Paris-based French culinary and hospitality school offering programs from CAP through MBA. Competes directly with Vatel's culinary/pastry vocational programs and management tracks in the French premium education market.
• École Ducasse: French culinary arts school with Paris and specialized campuses, founded by Alain Ducasse. Competes with Vatel Academy on culinary and pastry training, particularly for CAP Pâtissier and culinary arts students.
• EHL (École hôtelière de Lausanne) Group: World's oldest hotel school and widely regarded as the #1 hospitality management institution. Competes directly with Vatel for top-tier international hospitality students, faculty, and employer placement networks.
• Les Roches International School of Hotel Management: Swiss-based private hospitality management school offering Bachelor and MBA programs with similar experiential learning model and international student body. Most direct competitor for global hospitality management students at premium tuition.
• Institut Paul Bocuse: French school of culinary arts and hospitality management based in Lyon, offering Bachelor and MSc programs. Direct French competitor with similar experiential learning model and overlapping French student pool.
• Hotelschool The Hague: Dutch hospitality management school with Bachelor and MBA programs. Comparable European hospitality school competing for international student recruitment and offering similar management-focused curricula.

Emerging players

• BHMS (Business & Hotel Management School): Swiss-based hospitality management school with English-language Bachelor and MBA programs. An emerging player in the European hospitality education space with comparable programs targeting international students.

Broad incumbents

• Cornell University Nolan School of Hotel Administration: Ivy League hospitality school within Cornell University. While a broad incumbent, it competes for the same top-tier international students and employer recruiting relationships, and is widely seen as the gold standard in hospitality management education.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/VatelFrance
• Facebookfacebook.com/VatelFrance
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/school/vatel-france
• Instagraminstagram.com/vatelfrance

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Vatel France