Rome, the boom in luxury tourism: 14 large hotels to open soon

It has not yet unfolded its full potential and offers ample room for development in the luxury segment. This is Rome, the metropolis on which luxury hotel chains have been concentrating their investments for the past three years. "Over the next few years, at least 14 high-end hotels with more than 1,500 rooms are expected to open in Rome. Today, the offer is led by four-star hotels followed by three-star hotels," explains Marco Zalamena, Head of hospitality at EY Italy. "Luxury is only 9% of the total offer of rooms, but the number of facilities sold has grown by 30% from 2018 to 2023, the year in which there was a record investment of 412 million euro. A race fuelled by the low presence of international hotel chains.

"Rome still offers space for the entry of other premium brands," recalls the EY top manager. The arrival of luxury hotel groups brings important repercussions on the territory, starting from "renovation works whose value is between 50 and 100% of the value of the transaction with important repercussions on Made in Italy", continues Zalamena, "while the spending on the territory by customers of 4 and 5-star hotels is on average between one and two times the value of the room".

When the average cost of a room is over one thousand euros per night, it is easy to grasp the value of the premium clientele. The room for growth is not lacking because scrolling through the booking platforms one discovers that, for example, Rome lacks a five-star Mandarin Oriental, a Four Seasons or a Belmond. A few days ago Virtuoso Travel, a network of luxury tourism professionals, awarded Hotel Bvlgari Rome as the best hotel in the world.

Giuseppe De Martino, president of the tourism and leisure industry of Unindustria Rome and Lazio recalls that last year tourism in the capital reached 8.5 billion in value of wealth distributed throughout the territory. "For Rome, the opening of new 4- and 5-star hotels is an enormous opportunity and a stimulus to renovate the other structures," comments De Martino. "This bridges the gap with other capitals such as Paris and London, and Rome becomes more attractive even for a younger, high-spending clientele.

In the crosshairs are the very important clients, the new generation of rich people from the Brics. "Italy is experiencing growth in tourist flows and in 2023 there will be a return to the record numbers seen in 2019," Zalamena emphasises. "Tourists from emerging markets such as China, India and South America appreciate the Peninsula's destinations, without forgetting the consolidation of the North American market with its high-spender clientele and those from Northern Europe. Italy offers more high-end destinations than France, Germany and the United Kingdom'. A dynamism that explains how in the first half of the year six medium-large hotels were sold in Rome for 290 million. This is because the capital is a hub on which investments in the millions are poured year after year. Of the 1.6 billion invested in 2023 to purchase hotels throughout Italy, according to EY's 'Italy hotel investment 2023' report, just over a quarter was allocated to Rome, with a trend in line with that of the previous year. In particular, in 2023, ten hotels totalling 834 rooms were sold in the capital with an average valuation of no less than 494 thousand euro per room. This is a record high when compared to the 298 thousand euro value of a room in Milan.