Bulgari Hotels & Resorts is celebrating its 25th anniversary and is preparing for new openings
Vice-President Ursini: “We still want to expand, but whilst preserving our exclusivity. For us, human relationships are the foundation of impeccable service.”
Although the luxury industry is undergoing a profound transformation – one that is sometimes difficult to interpret – one trend is very clear: spending on experiences is growing faster than spending on products, at a rate 1.5 times higher, according to the latest Bain-Altagamma report. But the two categories are not always in competition. On the contrary, they can support one another. This is demonstrated by the story of Bulgari Hotels & Resorts, the hospitality division of the historic Roman jewellery brand – part of the LVMH group since 2011 – which is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year. The person behind this brand extension – which was extremely innovative at the time – was Silvio Ursini, now head of the division and executive vice-president of Bulgari: “I joined the company in 1989 and since then I have witnessed all the brand’s developments and variations,” he says. “When we opened the first hotel in Milan, in 2004, Bulgari had just 10 shops. It was a pioneering project, but over the past 25 years we’ve chosen to open just nine hotels, for a specific reason: to maintain that rarity, that scarcity, which guarantees exclusivity, whilst also taking the time to find the best locations and oversee every detail closely.”
Although proceeding at a measured pace, the expansion of Bulgari hotels shows no sign of stopping: following the opening of Rome in 2023, the next on the agenda is the Ranfushi resort in the Maldives in 2027, followed by Bodrum in 2028, Miami Beach and Cave Cay in the Bahamas in 2029, and Abu Dhabi in 2031. “The idea is to reach around twenty properties in the long term,” he adds. “We’re also looking with interest at Madrid, a city buzzing with activity, and we’d like to find the right locations in New York and Los Angeles, even though that’s very difficult at the moment. We’re not ruling out Asia, for example Singapore or Hong Kong. What will characterise every new opening, in any case, is the provision of ever-higher standards of experiences and services.”
The rise in spending on luxury experiences is attracting significant investment in the high-end hotel sector. Yet, despite the sector’s potential, fashion brands that have expanded into this category are still extremely rare: ‘Opening a hotel is very different, much more complex than launching a café or a pop-up restaurant, and many, although attracted by the possibility, are put off by it,’ continues Ursini. “Licensing your brand to create a perfume is one thing; collections can change quickly. A hotel, on the other hand, is a building that will bear your brand for up to a hundred years.”
Today, Bulgari hotels are racking up awards, but it was by no means a foregone conclusion that we would succeed in creating a credible extension of a brand with such a long history and high profile as Bulgari: ‘It’s true, there was a risk of creating hotels “by the jeweller”. But our in-depth knowledge of the brand, its history and its archives has enabled us to develop the project by drawing inspiration from it, without, however, being overly didactic.’ In the Tokyo hotel, for example, the entrance doors echo the lines of the façade of the historic Bulgari boutique on Via Condotti in Rome, which in turn echo traditional Japanese windows. “For the design, we never involved the same architects as for the retail spaces; instead, we forged a deep partnership with the firm Acpv Architects, led by Antonio Citterio and Patricia Viel, who have overseen all our properties. And as these properties have evolved, we have followed the evolution of the brand and its clientele, its collections. For example, in Milan 21 years ago, in a hotel with a more minimalist style, we would never have included glass panels engraved with snakes (one of Bulgari’s iconic motifs, ed. ) as we did in Paris. But what really characterises our approach is, above all, our service, based on emotional intelligence, on knowing our guests, and on the ability to anticipate their needs and desires. When we recruit staff, we place far greater importance on their capacity for empathy than on their technical skills. Today, luxury does not mean distance or separation, but connection and relationship. And this is also why our guests’ loyalty is so high.”
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The same formula is also replicated in the branded residences, a type of accommodation that is proving hugely and increasingly successful for Bulgari Hotels. These are conceived not as villas separate from the hotels, but as part of a community centred around the hotels, where owners can enjoy large spas and fine-dining restaurants, whilst also finding their own gardens always well-tended and dinner served upon arrival. Bulgari hotels will also feature an increasing number of Little Gems Clubs, spaces reserved for children, “very ‘analogue’ places, designed for education as well as entertainment”, notes Ursini. And where the little ones play under the watchful gaze of colourful snakes painted on the walls.
