INTERNATIONAL
REPORT — Under the spiraling demand of record international tourists, Italian
markets are diversifying, analysts say, as resort towns gain luxury investment
traction from Lake Como to Sicily and the Tuscan coast.
A record 65
million international tourists came to Italy in 2024, including 235 million
overnight stays, led by visitors from the U.K., Germany and the U.S., according
to the Italian National Tourist Board. That trend is expected to continue
through 2025, fueling a dramatic surge in demand, investments and room rates.
Beyond Rome,
there has been a notable concentration of investments in locations like Sicily,
Sardinia and Turino, traditionally considered secondary markets, according to
PWC’s latest Italian Market Snapshot, indicating investor interest has expanded
outside the traditional hospitality markets.
Marco
Zalamena, head of hospitality at EY in Italy, agrees.
“While Rome,
Venice and Milan lead the way, foreign investment is turning towards luxury
resort destinations, which accounted for 39% of the total investment volume in
2024 — an 11% hike from 2023,” he said. “After record hotel investments rising
30% last year to €2.1 billion, the Italian market continues to be very
attractive to investors this year. High-end properties, 4- and 5-star, dominate,
representing almost 90% of total investments (45% each).”
Half of the
recent hotel transactions, Zalamena added, involved international investors —
mainly global hotel operators from Europe and the Middle East. Other resort
destinations seeing a lot of investment activity include Sicily (15% of the
transactions) and Forte dei Marmi (11%).
Brand
interest in Italy
Hilton is
targeting both Sicily and Sardinia, said David Kelly, Hilton’s senior vice
president for Continental Europe, and the 2024 rebranding of Mangia’s Santa
Teresa Sardinia into a Curio Collection by Hilton after a €12 renovation topped
off three existing properties on the island.
As we continue to expand our portfolio of resorts across Southern Europe, Italy continues to be a key strategic growth market for Hilton.
David Kelly
“As we
continue to expand our portfolio of resorts across Southern Europe, Italy
continues to be a key strategic growth market for Hilton. Sardinia is a dream
destination for many of the group’s loyalty program members with its incredible
landscapes and hospitality … We also recently opened a hotel in Sicily under
the Tapestry Collection by Hilton brand and are set to open another property
there under the Curio Collection by Hilton brand in the coming weeks.”
Beyond the
islands, Hilton continues to invest in Italy, said Alan Mantin, vice president
of development for Southern Europe, with 109 trading and pipeline hotels.
The opening
of the Canopy Milan Duomo later this year in partnership with the Roscioli
Hotels Group will become Hilton’s 11th brand trading in Italy, Mantin said,
“demonstrating both the strong appeal of Italy to a variety of travelers, and
the continued rise in demand for lifestyle accommodation.”
With surges
in visitors to Sicily, up to over 5 million in 2024, hotel investors are taking
note, with local operators keen to form partnerships with international brands.
The Grand Hotel Imperiale in Moltrasio is converting to a Raffles Hotels & Resorts.
Mangia’s
€250M investment
Italian
resort operator Mangia’s says it has been rolling out €250 million in
investments at its beachfront resorts, which are concentrated in Sicily and
Sardinia, after a 40% increase in year-over-year revenue in 2023.
Mangia President and CEO Marcello Mangia said the group’s recent acquisition of the
Grand Hotel et Des Palmes in Palermo was “the first step in a strategic
expansion into the luxury 5-star city hotel sector, with plans to extend to
other Italian cities.” He predicts the hotel will contribute to a revenue
increase of 12% this year.
The entry of Raffles into the Italian market confirms the growing appetite of luxury hotel brands for this region.
Marco Zalamena
Mangia sees
strategic partnerships with hospitality brands as “essential for capturing the
5-star clientele” and international demand, which now accounts for the majority
of guests.
Several of
its properties have undergone upgrades and repositioning after a 2021 joint
venture with Hotel Investment Partners (HIP) involving €90 million
in outlays. Mangia’s Brucoli, Sicily, reopened in 2023 under Marriott’s
Autograph Collection after a €27 million refurbishment.
From the
southern islands to the northern lakes, “almost a third of recent resort
transactions are in Lake Como and they accelerated in Q4 2024,” said Zalamena,
“particularly conversion and renovation projects to develop ultra-luxury
properties.”
One of those
is rebranding the art nouveau villa, Grand Hotel Imperiale in Moltrasio, to a
Raffles Hotels & Resorts with local developer CL Hotel scheduled to open
in 2027. EY assisted in the operator selection process, said Zalamena, adding
it’s just the tip of the iceberg for global investors teaming up with Italian
operators on luxury resort developments.
“The entry
of Raffles into the Italian market confirms the growing appetite of luxury
hotel brands for this region,” Zalamena said. “We will also see the opening of Ritz-Carlton, Six
Senses, Belmond (LVMH), and Edition on Lake Como. Furthermore, Four Seasons is
set to open in Puglia in 2027 and Mandarin Oriental in Cortina d’Ampezzo in the
Dolomites (due to open in summer).”
Andrea
Girolami, CL Hotel’s principal, is also president of AG Hotels (the hospitality
division of AG Group) whose acquisitions and franchise agreements are
snowballing after partnering with Hyatt in 2021 to manage the Il Tornabuoni in
Florence under The Unbound Collection brand (acquired by Torino, Italy-based
VOIhotels as part of its V Retreats portfolio in 2023).
The group’s
relationship with Hyatt continues with the June opening of the Thompson Rome by
Hyatt, the second for the brand in Europe. The hotel is a conversion of the
former Italian Communist Party headquarters into a luxury lifestyle hotel near
the Capitoline Hill.
“The
ambitious renovation marks an expanding relationship with Hyatt”, said
Girolami, adding the hotel is under joint ownership with financial holding
company Rossfin.
Girolami
said that the group aims for a €220 million turnover from hotel activities by
2030 as it pursues expansion plans for its high-end offerings in Italy’s top
destinations.
B&B
Hotels’ push in Italy
While luxury
investments dominate, Paris-based B&B Hotels is focusing on mid-range 3- and
4-star investments and wants to double its Italian presence by 2030, said the
group’s President and CEO for Italy, Hungary and Slovenia, Liliana Comitini.
An ambitious
expansion plan across key and secondary cities and well-connected resort areas
has seen a handful of openings in the past few months, from Turin to Sardinia,
both new builds and conversions, lifting B&B’s Italian portfolio to 81.
“Our goal is
to reach 150 hotels by 2030 that will cover the Italian territory and gain an
ever wider international audience”, Comitini said. “Our strategy is…
embracing a very broad target of customers from business to leisure as well as
families and baby boomers, who are forever growing in the leisure sector.”
B&B
opened its first property in Sardinia last October with the B&B Hotel
Sassari. For Comitini, the foray into the island’s second biggest city is part
of the chain’s drive into Southern Italy and the Mediterranean.
The
constantly growing American market also plays a vital role in Sardinia’s hotel
development, according to Franco Cuccureddu, the island’s general counselor for
tourism.
At a trade
show in March, he said the U.S. “is firmly the first non-European market in
terms of presence. It is particularly significant in terms of spending
capacity.” This has contributed to a 10% hike in hotel stays and airport
traffic in Sardinia since 2023.