Sir Rocco Forte

The hotel or tourism industry is undervalued because it's not necessarily evident what it does. You open a factory with 2,000 jobs — politicians see that. But it's lost a bit in hotels.

Government seeing the hotel industry as a cow to milk, with tourist taxes of one kind or another. That, of course, forces you to raise the price.

In European locations such as London, Rome, Paris and Milan, hoteliers face high land and building costs and yields as low as 3 percent

Financial markets are at a sort of peak at the moment. A lot of people are talking about a potential crash and that could have an impact

Europe is a bit static and flat and it has been for a number of years.

Though I speak Italian and French fluently, I must admit that I have never learned German, despite having worked in Germany for over ten years.

But the City of London was great to me. I initially tried to buy back some of the business because Granada, who bought it, weren’t into luxury hotels. I raised a billion in the city — this was in ’97, and a billion was a lot more money than it is today — to make an offer. It didn’t work out in the end because things had moved on by the time I managed to do that. That was one of the biggest moments I faced in my life.

And then, of course, the financial crisis was difficult for us because I had a lot of debt at that time, and banks were immediately difficult. I was forced to sell a hotel in Geneva, which was sensible in relation to what I could get for it and the profits it was making. We paid a hundred million of debt, and things then picked up again quite quickly.

Italy is the most attractive tourist destination in the world — 66% of the world’s artifacts are there. The American market, which is very important for the luxury hotel industry, loves Italy. They are prepared to pay high prices, so it’s possible to be quite profitable in Italy — more so than elsewhere in the world.

The group managed to maintain its margin by passing increased land, construction and inflation costs on to guests.

He reported that room rates have increased significantly from $1,000 per night before Covid, to about $3,000 to $4,000 per night.

strengthened our balance sheet and given us a higher profile around the world

She also launched Irene Forte, an organic skincare line.

Her sustainable products are very much appreciated by our guests and we actually offer them at turn down rather than the usual chocolate.

I decided to start a new business after the Forte Group was sold. With a new company and limited capital, I decided to focus on iconic luxury properties.

We invest a great deal in training and the Italians are known for their hospitality.

This new venture represents our commitment to making Rocco Forte Hotels one of the easiest and most rewarding luxury hotel brands to work with.

Travel advisors are fundamental to our business and deserve a commission process that reflects the value they bring.

It is a joy to see them developing as well as they have, taking on more and more responsibility. I am very lucky to be able to work with them.

There is now much more focus on local experiences than there was before. We are particularly good at these because of our local relationships with key people in each location.

They want to gain a sense of place, try local flavors when they dine, and absorb the personality of the city where they're staying.

He always had time for people.

For my father, integrity was very important . . . how you treated staff, suppliers, customers.

simple, comfortable and straightforward

Each hotel should have an individual personality that reflects its location.

The basics have remained the same, the kindness, the will to serve and make all guests feel special have not changed.

Ci muoviamo tra proprietà, management contract e contratti d’affitto. A Noto, ad esempio, si tratta di un’acquisizione, poi avremo anche dei co-investitori, come per l’hotel in Grecia, dipende dalle opportunità delle singole location

Notiamo molto interesse per le attività che si possono fare in hotel, da quella culturale, alla pratica sportiva e poi si cerca nella struttura delle caratteristiche distintive. Le nostre strutture sono cresciute costantemente di livello diventando sempre più complete in termini di offerta. Devo sottolineare che il nostro gruppo vive ancora una fase dove si percepisce un senso di famiglia, un calore che non è facile trovare altrove e che in diversi grandi brand si sta perdendo. Questo è il nostro patrimonio e questo attira il viaggiatore esperto, che intende provare un’esperienza un po’ diversa. Per questo puntiamo molto sul servizio personalizzato, sulla cura del cliente prima ancora del suo arrivo, fin quando esce dal nostro hotel. Su questa customer care continuiamo a lavorare per migliorare costantemente

Più che di medical Spa, che prevede veri e propri servizi medici, parlerei di percorso di longevità, grazie anche al fatto, ad esempio, che accanto al Verdura Resort c’è Caltabellotta, che è stata riconosciuta come “Blue Zone” (Zona Blu), ossia un’area geografica caratterizzata da un’eccezionale longevità e qualità della vita. Per quanto riguarda le branded residences anche in futuro terremo in considerazione la possibilità di uno sviluppo misto, laddove la location lo permetterà

È il front-line staff a rendere tangibile l’offerta aziendale

Il settore alberghiero è una grande industry e coinvolge le persone, ha un aspetto sociale fondamentale, per questo nella gestione del business puntiamo sul senso di appartenenza, sul rispetto e sulla valorizzazione del personale

L’offerta culturale e artistica del luogo, il design e l’alto livello di servizio verso l’ospite

Sì, in Italia abbiamo circa un 50% di presenze americane. Devo dire che c’è stata un po’ di pausa, ma dipenderà da cosa accadrà nelle prossime settimane. Se la guerra dovesse continuare a lungo, certo potrebbe creare problemi, con l’inevitabile carenza di fuel, la chiusura di alcune rotte, ma per contro l’Europa viene scelta anche da chi aveva in previsione di soggiornare in Medio Oriente o in altre destinazioni a lungo raggio

Abbiamo tre aperture previste per l’anno prossimo. In Sardegna in Costa Smeralda, accanto al Pitrizza, un vecchio albergo completamente ristrutturato, mentre a Napoli avremo Palazzo Caravita di Sirignano sulla Riviera di Chiaia e in Sicilia, a Noto, Palazzo Castelluccio, un antico palazzo che stiamo trasformando in albergo. In Puglia poi avremo un’apertura l’anno successivo, che affiancherà il Torre Maizza di Fasano. Questi sono i progetti già annunciati, ma ne stiamo studiando altri, che ancora non sono definiti del tutto, ma possiamo parlare di altre 4 o 5 new entry

Uno è sicuramente il segmento lago: stiamo valutando Como e anche il Lago Maggiore e in questo caso si tratta di progetti relativi a resort e sono in fase abbastanza avanzata. I prossimi saranno resort hotel, anche stagionali. Stiamo studiando due progetti in montagna, uno nelle Alpi italiane e uno in Austria. Poi c’è una struttura in Grecia in fase di valutazione e una a Lisbona, dove stiamo trattando un hotel in città, un vecchio palazzo che trasformeremo in albergo

Mi piace trasformare i palazzi che hanno una storia, esaltando quello storytelling particolare che l’albergo nuovo non ha. E questo piace molto anche ai nostri ospiti, che non vogliono un brand alberghiero ripetitivo, ma qualcosa di diverso che racconti in modo unico. E’ quello che cerco nello sviluppo di molti resort, poi certo ci sono anche i progetti greenfield dove si parte da zero

When I came back to my office after it had been announced that the bid was successful, there was a whole panoply of journalists thrusting microphones in front of me. They said, 'What are you going to do now?' The words of MacArthur in the Philippines came back to me, and I said, 'I shall return.'

For example, in the Hotel de Russie in Rome, you have this amazing garden and courtyard, which is a big attraction. Villa Igiea in Palermo is a beautiful Sicilian Liberty building built in 1903. It’s a grand hotel and yet on a small scale. It’s got wonderful terraces leading down to the sea, and that’s got a special atmosphere because of that. Then you have Verdura, where the attraction is 550 acres — there’s a lot of space and a feeling of being with nature. Underlying it all is the same service, attention to detail.

I don’t know if there is a perfect hotel. There’s always a feature of a hotel which renders something extra to it. The location and the building itself determine a lot of aspects of our hotels. My job is to create the right atmosphere and feeling of welcome in the hotel, wherever it is.

I have a partner now, which is the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund. That will give us a focus in the Middle East. We’re looking at projects in Saudi Arabia, which is a huge tourism hub that’s being created, and obviously the wider Middle East as a result. In a year’s time, you’ll see us starting to establish ourselves in that part of the world.

We’re looking at potential projects in Spain, Greece and Portugal. I’ve tried hard to do something in the States without success. Everything, for example, in New York is very expensive to get into. Even if you find an investor, the returns you can offer are not great. But we’ve got someone on the ground there looking. We may end up doing something in Mexico and the Caribbean first.

Italy is not necessarily an easy place to do business in. The fact that I’m of Italian origin and speak Italian made it easier for me. The first hotel I opened there was the Hotel de Russie, which was an immediate hit. It was the first 'unstuffy,' not old-fashioned hotel in Rome in a very good location, and it just took off. That created a signature for me in Italy. Now, we’re considered one of the best, if not the best, luxury players in Italy.

Then, of course, COVID was difficult because suddenly you have no income and big outgoings. We had to work hard to keep our people together and survive, which we succeeded in doing. When we were able to reopen, I didn’t have to start from scratch.

I've got 15 properties, but I think the scale is a bit too small. I need to get bigger but in a way that I can keep the ethos of the company as it is. I'd like to see another 15 hotels over the next five or six years.

I don't think much about legacy. I think about what I'm going to do next. At my age, I wouldn't be doing what I'm doing if I didn't love the job and the excitement and interest it creates for me. There are always challenges and issues to face; it keeps me looking forward. Whilst I have the energy, it's something I want to continue doing.

By building Verdura, we created 500 jobs and an industry around it. I was made an honorary citizen of Sciacca, which is a town nearby where most of the employees come from. The mayor said a thousand small businesses have been created on the back of Verdura. We created a whole economy and started to attract other international hoteliers to the area.

When people stay with you in your home, you want to make sure they have a good time and there are things for them to do which are of interest. They should go away feeling they’ve been very well looked after and had a great time. With a hotel, you’ve got a lot more guests staying at the same time, but it’s an extension of that.

Determination and not taking 'no' as an answer. Finding ways around problems, because there’s always an easy answer as to why you can’t do something. Questioning everything so that you really get to the bottom of issues and find solutions people hadn’t thought of.

Apart from being at the top of the organization, you’re setting an example. It’s no use writing memos and saying one thing and then doing something different yourself. People are looking at you. How you act when you go to a hotel and how you talk to the people in the hotel are very important. You have to be respected in the organization and, hopefully, liked as well.

In a much smaller way, I’ve founded a business and taken it to a certain level of success, and there’s that same aspect. It’s easy to let that go to your head. The key people I have around me are very important to me to bounce things off them and stay in touch with the grassroots — the people on the frontline — because that keeps you focused.

People used to go to my father with a problem, and they came away with a solution. As a leader, that’s what you want to try to do.

The main aspect is the way you look after your customer — how you can personalize his experiences and effectively preempt his every need. It’s a continual effort to keep improving the service. You haven’t achieved a finish; there’s always something better and new you can add. Obviously, tastes and the approaches customers take change, although the underlying basics remain the same.

The biggest challenges were the takeover bid of my father’s company. To come out of that is quite a feat. First of all, there was fighting it. In a sense, I was unsuccessful in dealing with it in that the company was sold. But in the U.K., a hostile bid is about creating shareholder value. It’s not about your own personal position. In the defense we put out, we were original in the way we approached the business. It’s a short process — two months — but there are certain rules you’ve got to follow. We were clever enough to force a bidder to raise his price. Once he raised his price, the institutional shareholders thought it was worthwhile to sell, and it was sold.

Underlying it all is the same service, attention to detail and care for the customer.

We’ll have a hotel at the Red Sea project.

Until you sign something, you don’t talk about it.

The PIF are very good people to work with. They take a long-term, strategic view.

They saw potential in us, not for short-term returns but for sustained global growth.

We like smaller, distinctive hotels where we can give a more personal service.

Each hotel should be special in its own right, not just another flag on the map.

It’s part of our broader relationship with the PIF, which has strengthened our balance sheet and given us a higher profile around the world.

They’re very long-term, strategic investors. They saw potential in us, not for short-term returns but to help us grow globally.

Each hotel should be special in its own right. We’re not interested in just planting flags.

I aim to replicate in my own ventures.

A unique feature in all our hotels is the collection of Everyman hardbacks in the rooms, a tradition championed by my sister.

Learning the local language would undoubtedly improve communication.

the true success of our hotels lies in the strong family culture we have built under the Sir Rocco Forte name.

That culture sets us apart and is the foundation of everything we do.

my son focuses on hotel development, particularly expanding into the U.S. and Paris.

Irene oversees our spas, where she has created a unique spa philosophy.

Lydia, for example, manages our restaurants and bars.

They are just as dedicated to ensuring high-quality service and outstanding results.

My sister Olga and my children share my passion for what we do.

I want to foster a sense of family, history, and continuity in every property.

My goal is to make my Forte hotels warm and welcoming.

While wealth is important, I find that the atmosphere in our hotels matters more.

Hotels that cater to domestic audiences have been performing better than those dependent on international markets.

We select books that relate to the local area to help make the rooms feel more homely and comfortable.

The outlook for the remainder of the new financial year remains positive.

In the new financial year ending 30 April 2026, the group has continued to trade well, despite the impact of increased competition in key markets, notably Rome and London.

Revenue in the first two months of the year increased by 2.7% compared to the same period in the prior year.

Irene has grown up in the business and has always had a passion for wellness. She also spent a long time in Sicily at our Verdura Resort, where she sources her ingredients. So she knows the business well and is the perfect fit for us.

Working together as a family can be difficult, but in our case, it works extremely well. We get on very well and all have our clear strengths and skills that complement each other.

It’s good to have a family member that you can trust implicitly working alongside you.

We talk about business a lot, but I think we have a good balance.

The other important aspect was a strong personality and sense of place. Twenty-six years later, everyone’s talking about that, but it’s not always delivered.

Most high-end establishments were rather pompous at the time and I felt there was an opening for hotels that were more customer-friendly and had a comfortable, welcoming design.

I suppose some of the warmth our guests always comment about comes from our family roots.

Now wellness comes into everything and feeling good is part of our lives. Some guests actually only frequent spas when they travel, so they become a vital part of the stay.