Recognized to many because the Everlasting Metropolis, Rome has an uninterrupted historical past spanning two and a half thousand years. Other than unimaginable historic websites, Rome has a number of the world’s best luxurious inns, typically carved out of grand palazzos that after served members of the royal courtroom of the Papal elite, and all of them adorned with opulent finishings and effective artwork.
On a typical night time in off-peak durations (if Rome even has a off-season anymore!), 20 or extra properties meet our Mille Membership definition, with entry-level charges properly over $1,000 (measured in USD, despite the fact that these would even be over €1,000), with many double and even triple that quantity. And that’s typically just for the bottom commonplace king, with suites and villas operating in multiples above that.
We have been lucky to cease in Rome following a enterprise journey and expertise the 2 properties owned by Rocco Forte Lodges, a model synonymous with Italian class. Regardless of unseasonably chilly and rain-soaked spring climate, Resort de la Ville and Resort de Russie made us really feel past welcome with their unimaginable hospitality.
We requested the Managing Administrators of each properties to offer perception into their tackle Roman hospitality and the ever-evolving nature of ultraluxury inns in an alpha-tier metropolis like this one the place fierce competitors amongst Mille Membership members is fierce.
Half 1: Resort de la Ville interview with Francesco Roccato, Managing Director for Northern Italy for Rocco Forte Lodges
Why ought to a discerning visitor stick with you?
The Resort de la Ville boasts an impeccable but relaxed method to service. Proper from the time our visitors make a reserving to the time they attain Rome, and even after departure, our visitors expertise the attentiveness and heat of your entire crew. That is key to attracting new clientele and, on the identical time, making them dream to return quickly. Furthermore, Rocco Forte Lodges enhances the heritage of every vacation spot by selecting distinctive properties in prime areas, such because the 18th-century palazzo that hosts the Resort de la Ville.
What are the important thing differentiators between your property and different luxurious properties within the Metropolis?
As a part of one of many Rocco Forte Lodges pillars, we firmly imagine that we make a distinction by enhancing the vacation spot with unique, genuine, tailormade Roman experiences. This creates a ‘fil rouge’ or frequent thread that hyperlinks the general expertise with the lodge design, the meals and beverage supply, and the bespoke ideas of our native concierge. One other facet that our visitors admire in regards to the lodge is the household feeling and the reassuring method of our devoted crew, which makes them instantly really feel welcome and ensures a memorable keep.
How do you make sure that your workers maintains their dedication to excellence that we noticed?
I’ve at all times strived to ascertain a superb working local weather throughout your entire Resort de la Ville. I’m fortunate to have a consolidated crew working collectively for the reason that opening. At Rocco Forte Lodges, we concentrate on coaching, cross-training, and profession improvement to have an enthusiastic crew. Thus, the crew is dedicated to delivering wonderful service and, on the identical time, is keen to be taught and develop in its profession path. We continuously promote a motivated surroundings geared toward offering wonderful service. My motto is, “Deal with others the way you wish to be handled!”
As charges have dramatically elevated for the reason that pandemic, how have you ever ensured the visitor receives worth?
Since opening in 2019, the Resort de la Ville has grown its enterprise and consolidated its fame and consciousness. As acknowledged above, we craft custom-made experiences for our visitors that completely match their needs and curiosity and guarantee they’re sorted all through their keep. Furthermore, we’ve sturdy partnerships with native artisans and high-end area of interest manufacturers strongly linked to the vacation spot. These are a part of our interesting gifting program, together with a small Roman memento for our visitors to take dwelling with them.
Are you able to present an instance of the way you and your crew anticipate visitors’ wants throughout their keep?
Our Concierge and Visitor Relations groups contact our visitors or their journey brokers earlier than arrival to make sure that all their needs take form promptly, making a bespoke itinerary that enables them to find the vacation spot at its best. This anticipatory method makes them really feel reassured and extra keen to find the Everlasting Metropolis’s hidden gems!
Half 2: Resort de Russie interview with Giacomo Battafarano, Managing Director for Southern Italy for Rocco Forte Lodges
Why ought to a discerning visitor stick with you?
Undoubtedly, for our incomparable location! Resort de Russie is a historic constructing that homes the monumental gardens designed by Giuseppe Valadier within the nineteenth century, a inexperienced oasis between Piazza del Popolo and Piazza di Spagna within the historic heart of the Capital. Elementary parts are the excessive degree of our professionals which ensures excessive requirements of companies and the sturdy reference to the vacation spot is an additional plus.
What are the important thing differentiators between your property and different luxurious properties within the metropolis?
The model’s philosophy of personalizing the keep and making the expertise extra unique is characterizing. Our visitors really feel at dwelling away from dwelling.
How do you make sure that your workers maintains their dedication to excellence?
Worker dedication goes past mere compliance with job duties. It represents a deep emotional attachment and dedication to the group. Workers willingly make investments their time, effort and vitality to realize organizational objectives when dedicated.
In Rocco Forte, service excellence is a philosophy. To succeed in and preserve excellence, we concentrate on:
- Steady coaching.
- Making a constructive work surroundings is essential for rising and sustaining staff’ dedication and dedication to a enterprise. It fosters a way of belonging, motivation, and total job satisfaction. From the workers’ perspective, a constructive work surroundings means feeling valued, revered, and supported by their superiors and colleagues. It entails open communication, belief, and alternatives for progress and improvement.
- Recognizing and rewarding worker contributions is important to fostering a constructive work surroundings and enhancing worker dedication.
- Lead by instance: Belief begins on the prime. Leaders who reveal honesty, integrity, and consistency set the tone for the group. Workers really feel safe when leaders hold their guarantees, admit errors, and talk overtly.
- Clear decision-making: Every time potential, contain staff in decision-making processes. Clarify the rationale behind selections, even when they’re unpopular. Transparency reduces uncertainty and builds belief.
- Constant communication: Repeatedly share updates on firm efficiency, technique, and challenges. City corridor conferences, newsletters, and one-on-one conversations all contribute to transparency.
From staff’ perspective, sturdy management is created by speaking the imaginative and prescient, objectives, and expectations, giving them belief, transparency, and path. They perceive their position in reaching the targets and are motivated to contribute.
The identical will be mentioned from the leaders’ viewpoint: by actively listening to staff’ concepts, issues, and suggestions, they’ll achieve helpful insights and make knowledgeable selections.
Lastly, but importantly, selling work-life stability is important to fostering a wholesome and dedicated workforce. Placing the best stability between skilled and private commitments can considerably influence an worker’s well-being, job satisfaction, and total productiveness.
As charges have dramatically elevated post-COVID, how have you ever ensured the visitor receives worth?
After the pandemic, the pattern of revenge journey unfold, and due to this fact, the unexpressed demand of the interval restrictions led to an exponential progress in journey demand.
Folks have invested extra of their well-being and journey. Rome and Italy have at all times been standard locations internationally for his or her historic treasures, high quality of life, good meals, and artwork of hospitality. Nevertheless, resulting from a really excessive improve in demand, prices elevated.
As an organization, we’ve made many investments, beginning with recruiting new workers and persevering with with quite a few investments, amongst which the entire refurbishment of the rooms in response to the numerous requests from our visitors staying for longer than just some nights. The rooms with backyard views have been renovated, a novel function of the Resort de Russie and town of Rome.
Now we have restored the monumental historic backyard, the Foyer, and our restaurant, Le Jardin de Russie, internally frescoed by the immersive artist Gio Bressana. The intent is to renovate your entire constructing by the top of 2025.
Are you able to present an instance of the way you and your crew anticipate visitors’ wants throughout their keep?
The Resort de Russie crew is concerned with its visitors from the very starting, from the reserving section, once we attempt to perceive and discover out their expectations and must counsel the perfect lodging answer for his or her desired excursions and restaurant ideas.
Now we have invested in and elevated our Visitor Relations crew, which helps and provides a devoted, unique, and typically tailored service to all our visitors. Moreover, the Resort de Russie boasts a really skilled concierge crew that’s well-connected with town’s historic locations, occasions, excursions, and new issues to supply.
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