Luxury Hotelier - June 2008 - (Page 38)

38| Protocols always distinguished Bulgari brands. In a hospitality setting, this means impeccable service standards. “The service is intimate and attentive and delivered by a very high quantity of Attilio Marro competent and trained staff, but in an informal, genuine and relaxed manner—nothing pompous or stiff,” Mr. Marro says. “All these elements are essential in order to conceive and run luxury hotels that do not feel ‘stuffy’ or outdated and encourage guests to form an emotional connection with their hotel.” Lungarno Hotels—a brand based on the style sense of Leonardo Ferragamo and the fashion house of the same name—has a management company owned by the Ferragamo family. The company, Lungarno Alberghi S.r.l., was established in 1995. The brand’s premiere property, Hotel Lungarno, on the Arno River in Florence, Italy, opened in November 1997. Since then, the brand has expanded to include seven hotels in Florence and Rome. Lungarno Hotels also includes meeting and event space, restaurant and retail outlets to build on the brand philosophy of generating “hotel hospitality as lifestyle projects destined for the modern and sensitive traveler,” according to the company’s press materials. The trend of designer-inspired hotels can be a good business decision for the designer and hotel operator and can be seen as part of a larger trend of hotels partnering with consumer brands, according to Alex Kyriakidis, global managing partner of Tourism, Hospitality and Leisure, Deloitte. In the company’s annual executive report, Mr. Kyriakidis explores the idea of a designer hotel as a natural progression of luxury brands reaching out to their loyal customers. “Some guests are already Bulgari clients,” says Mr. Marro. “The hotel’s opening created a lot of curiosity. Expectations are high, and we cannot lean on the brand. The key to the hotel’s success is its popularity with the Milanese. The Bulgari Hotel, however, is considered as the expression of a luxury brand and not of a fashion brand and has quickly become a Milan landmark for local and international people.” Mr. McKinnon says the luxury hotel consumer is already a Missoni consumer. REZIDOR HOTEL GROUP LUNGARNO BULGARI MILAN Luxury Hotelier | June 2008 | www.LuxuryHotelier.com http://www.LuxuryHotelier.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Luxury Hotelier - June 2008

Luxury Hotelier - June 2008 Contents Editor's Letter Inform Journal Network Personalities Insight: Smith Travel Research/The Bench Properties Insight: Ecole hôtelière de Lausanne Inspire Deliver Protocols Insight: HotelWorld Innovate Development Indulge Advertisers Index Editorial Index Source Listing Dossier

Luxury Hotelier - June 2008

For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.