More than 80 registrants from across three global regions (Europe, US and Asia) signed up to attend the cross-border France/US webinar, initiated by the ULI France Innovation & Technology Product Council. The webinar was co-chaired by Beatrice Guedj (Swiss Life AM) and Sarah Fleury (Goodwin).

Minta Kay, Partner at Goodwin, gave an overview of the U.S market with a definition of ‘PropTech’ and long-term ‘must-haves’ for building operations (energy management, access control, cleaning and sanitization & predictive maintenance), construction (monitoring and recordation, modular construction, advanced materials & digital twinning,  property transactions – financing sales brokerage, leasing, transaction management, design valuation), space design and usage (shared use of space, sensors & design, and tenant experience – door to door journey, integration with IoT) building wellness (materials, certifications, design, air quality) and sustainability (carbon neutrality, energy management, design).

Charlotte Journo-Baur, Retail Specialist at Wishibam, explained how it provided viable solutions to small retailers during and after the lockdown, including hybrid retail through e-commerce and physical shops. Journo-Baur gave examples of how it has been organised in Angers, France and how such a solution can be implemented at a city-level to sustain retail recovery.

Nicolas Regnier, Data Soluce explained how they tackled the challenges faced by the public medical hospital sector using their products. Data Soluce addressed the new markets and new demands: acknowledging an appetite from operators such as ‘Korian’ in Europe. Nicolas noted the necessary application to make buildings more flexible.

Thibault Vasseur from Club Med presented their ‘Happy Digital’ strategy with key examples of API to ease collaboration and connectivity. Vasseur explained the concept of ‘fast follower’ and strong integration of digitalisation in HR, operation, and commercial to increase occupancy and flexibility. Some examples were given on innovation regarding the customer, digital bracelet, and easy arrival. Explanations of global presence and how to leverage upon it (best practises from around the world tested before deployed at a large scale). A good example was China in comparison with Europe – where the Chinese have shown to be more responsive to digital progression (payment, WeChat Ecosystem, reactive market, and fast adoption rate).

Participants were able to address questions directly to the speakers and engage with the panel.

Watch the webinar on Knowledge Finder.