At over 70 years old, many people are slowing down, but he is starting a new chapter. A visionary entrepreneur and builder of iconic brands, Serge Trigano is back with a project that combines hospitality, real estate, and social revolution: Casa Barbara. It’s a place designed to reinvent “aging well” in the city, far from traditional medicalized norms. More than just a concept, it’s a business vision driven by the experience of a serial entrepreneur who has never stopped believing in the power of community.
The DNA of an experience builder
The name Trigano is inseparable from a certain idea of shared happiness. As heir and CEO of the legendary Club Med, Serge Trigano helped shape experiential hospitality long before the word “lifestyle” became a marketing buzzword. Later, with Mama Shelter, he broke with traditional hotel conventions, injected conviviality into design, and democratized a form of relaxed luxury.
At each stage, there was a common thread: creating connections.
Casa Barbara is part of this continuity. But this time, the terrain is even more daring: senior living. It’s a rapidly expanding market, driven by an aging population and changing family models. Where many see a real estate segment, Serge Trigano sees a social issue—and a major entrepreneurial opportunity.
After the inaugural launch of Casa Barbara in Levallois-Perret in May 2022, Serge Trigano is continuing to expand the concept on the French Riviera. The second Casa Barbara was inaugurated in Nice on June 30, 2023, in the Saint-Roch district, once again offering a welcoming residence combining private intimacy and shared living spaces, a lively restaurant, and a program of activities to encourage interaction and break the isolation. And the adventure doesn’t stop there: other openings are already being considered, driven by the energy of serial entrepreneur Serge Trigano.
The strategic gamble of “aging well”
The aging of the European population is reshaping the economy. Silver economy, intergenerational co-living, assisted living facilities: the concepts are multiplying. But Casa Barbara is positioned neither as a nursing home nor as a simple senior residence.
The project takes a hybrid approach: hospitality, cultural programming, convivial dining, and common areas designed as living spaces rather than institutional corridors. The model is based on a simple but powerful promise: to remain in control of one’s life, surrounded by others, stimulated, and safe.
Behind this vision lies a structured business model : controlled real estate, investment partners, and a scalable model. The challenge is not only human, but also financial. Transforming a segment historically perceived as anxiety-inducing into a desirable destination requires a strong strategic repositioning—and education for both families and investors.
Serial entrepreneur, always
What is striking about Serge Trigano is not so much his diversification as his consistency. From Club Med to Mama Shelter, then to Casa Barbara, he is always exploring the same territory: that of living together.
The driving force? The desire to start over. A taste for calculated risk. The energy of a new launch. Being a serial entrepreneur means accepting constant uncertainty. It means understanding that every success carries with it the need for reinvention.
In an unstable economic world, marked by health crises and real estate tensions, launching a new concept requires both conviction and courage. Casa Barbara is not an opportunistic project; it is a long-term bet on changing lifestyles.
Leadership and transmission
At a time when many leaders talk about “purpose,” Serge Trigano advocates an almost instinctive approach to business: creating places that bring people together. But behind intuition lies experience. Knowing how to surround yourself with the right people. Delegating. Anticipating cycles. Accepting failure.
Serge Trigano is continuing the family’s entrepreneurial adventure with his two sons, Benjamin and Jérémie. Drawing on their experiences – particularly with Mama Shelter -they are bringing a warm, intergenerational vision to Casa Barbara.
Casa Barbara also marks a generational milestone: thinking about aging when you yourself belong to that generation. Transforming a personal reality into an entrepreneurial vision.
Leadership here is not based on technological disruption, but on relational intelligence. On the ability to understand a profound sociological change and turn it into a viable economic model. An encounter with an enlightened builder with emotional intelligence and a deeply human touch.
INTERVIEW
LUXUS PLUS : After making a profound mark on the lifestyle hotel industry with Mama Shelter, what made you want to embark on the Casa Barbara project?
Serge Trigano : The Trigano family’s trademark is its ability to create living spaces and bring happiness to people. So it seemed only natural to us to focus on the world of seniors, who too often find themselves alone, bored in their apartments and letting themselves go. Casa Barbara was designed to help people age well, based on three pillars. First, eating well, thanks to the talents of Pierre Gagnaire. Second, never being alone and surrounding yourself with people, which is something we learned at Club Méditerranée. Third, offering a wide range of physical and intellectual activities, the result of our fifty years of experience.
LUXUS PLUS : Casa Barbara responds to a major societal shift around aging and social ties. Do you see this project as market intuition, a logical continuation of your entrepreneurial journey, or an almost militant personal commitment ?
Serge Trigano: Militant, no, that would be too pretentious of me, but we rely heavily on intuition for this project, as we do for all our projects. And after starting our professional activity in the Club Méditerranée villages for singles, it was logical that we should take care of them now that they have grown older.
LUXUS PLUS : You are a serial entrepreneur, surrounded by your sons. What motivates you today to create, develop, and start over, and how do you maintain your ability to innovate ?
Serge Trigano : What motivates me today is to continue to bring happiness to people and break down loneliness. And I simply try to listen to the world around us. I take the subway to work, I watch TV, I read all the newspapers and a few books, and I try to sense people’s needs and desires so that I can respond to the challenges we face.
LUXUS PLUS : Casa Barbara seems to want to erase the words “nursing home” or “retirement home” from the dictionary. What was the main economic and structural challenge in designing Casa Barbara? Where does the complexity lie ?
Serge Trigano : The complexity for Casa Barbara lies in our ability to motivate our future residents to leave their apartments, their habits, and their history behind to join a lively place that can meet their deepest and sometimes hidden aspirations.
LUXUS PLUS : The “senior living” market is attracting more and more players. What is your strategic differentiation ?
Serge Trigano : Most of the players today are real estate developers primarily motivated by the profit associated with construction rather than the management of residences. Our approach is the opposite: we start with a hotel concept and offer our customers a hotel-style living experience. We have completely reversed the logic of the system.
LUXUS PLUS : How do you convince investors to back a project that combines profitability with a strong human dimension ?
Serge Trigano : We are fortunate to have two investors on our side: La Carac, a mutual insurance company that is very involved in the world of seniors, and Atream, the leading French fund in the tourism sector, who agreed to support us in this project from day one.
LUXUS PLUS : After your adventures with Club Med and Mama Shelter, what have you learned about managing growth and economic cycles ?
Serge Trigano : I have learned over time that our businesses are made up of ups and downs. You have to keep a cool head, put money aside, and show a little humility when you’re at the top of the cycle, and you need resilience and a good family environment when you’re going through a crisis.
LUXUS PLUS : If you had to summarize Casa Barbara in a 10-year vision: international network, benchmark concept, new way of living in old age… What is your ultimate ambition ?
Serge Trigano : My 10-year dream—which I may not live to see—is for Casa Barbara to become a network of locations across the Mediterranean basin and Europe. Our customers could spend six months in Morocco or Tunisia in the winter, six months in Brittany in the summer, and then perhaps six months on the French Riviera, in Nice or Antibes.
Read also > [INTERVIEW] Michael Dayan, co-founder of Highstay, a new model of hospitality
Featured photo : © Casa Barbara
