Page 20 - December 2021 / January 2022

Making Unforgettable

Experiences

Now more than ever, the mission of Baglioni Hotels & Resorts
is to provide guests with a hotel stay unlike anything they’ve
ever had before, that offers consummate Italian style and
uncompromising comfort. Here, RLI sits down with CEO
Guido Polito to discuss the brand and what its key drivers are
as it looks for further international expansion.

Baglioni Hotels & Resorts was founded in 1974, when Roberto Polito and his wife Lisa established the Baglioni Resort Cala del Porto in
Punta Ala, Tuscany with the aim of developing a unique concept of Italian excellence and hospitality. Today, the brand is a collection of elegant
and sophisticated hotels each with their own story and symbiotic relationship with the local culture and language.
“Our portfolio consists of hotels in Venice, Rome and Florence, Italy’s finest art cities, as well as a Tuscan Maremma and vibrant London,”
explain Guido Polito, the CEO of Baglioni Hotels & Resorts. “We also have our five-star luxury resort in the Maldives, in the unspoilt paradise
of Maagau atoll, as well as our new resort in Sardinia, which opened back in June this year.”
Because of the effects of Covid the hospitality sector has gone through, and continues to face the most severe crisis of its industry ever,
and Polito explains that it has taken time to understand and overcome it, and that such long periods of restriction have made people realise
how important travelling is for their own wellbeing.
Whilst Covid-19 of course had an effect on almost every business, before the pandemic Baglioni Hotels & Resorts was performing well,
achieving constant growth in terms of revenue and brand awareness. Even during Covid, they successfully opened the Baglioni Resort
Maldives in difficult times, which gave them the opportunity to offer a completely new experience to their clients with an exotic and unique
destination within its portfolio.
Whilst the company’s latest opening was Baglioni Resort Sardinia in June, in the next 12 months they intend to secure a new hotel in Milan,
this is their top priority along with an additional resort in Italy. “In the future, we are looking for properties in New York and Paris; this has
been a priority for many years and remains a key target. However, at the same time, we intend to grow in our existing markets and I believe
that Sicily and Puglia would be great destinations in the future.”
Over the years, the brand has developed a concept of luxury, embodied in personalised service and sensitivity to both their culture of
origin and their individual tastes and preferences. While surroundings may influence the style, it is the Baglioni personality that lends the
hospitality its unmistakable hallmark of quality.
The Baglioni Hotels & Resorts are private residences, elegant and intimate, open and vibrant, and the staff are meticulous about every
detail. Everything on site is arranged to put the guest at the heart of an authentic, personal and exquisite Italian experience that will live long
in the memory.
Polito feels that both Italian and international guests visit Italy mainly for its unmistakeable style, and they choose the collection because
they are the authentic epitome of it since one of the defining features of Italian style is Italian fine food.

Retail & leisuRe inteRnational DeCeMBeR 2021 / JanuaRY 2022