Talks for a Change – the series produced by Medelhan and curated by Design Courier dedicated to exploring the latest changes in the landscape of real estate developments, prestigious hotel chains, and renowned investors – returns with a new episode on – literally – the heights of luxury. Once again, the backdrop for the topic was set by Dario Leone, Head of Hospitality & Leisure at Savills – the division specializing in valuation and advisory services, operator selection, and capital markets for hospitality and leisure facilities with a highly personalized service.

The focus of the discussion was Northern Italy, an area offering a unique variety of destinations and investment opportunities in the luxury hospitality sector. In a relatively small geographic area, you can move from the most iconic and exclusive Alpine locations to the serenity of Lake Como and Lake Garda, both boasting a long tradition of attracting high-profile international tourism. Here, we also find, eclectically juxtaposed, vibrant metropolitan areas like Milan and Turin, unique art cities such as Venice, and jewel-like seaside villages like Portofino. And for those wanting to traverse this mosaic of landscapes in one breath, the Belmond group recently inaugurated a train connecting Paris to Portofino aboard the legendary Venice Simplon-Orient-Express, offering a refined travel experience.

Thus, it is an attractive place not only for lovers of beautiful landscapes but also for designers and investors. The Italian hotel real estate market is experiencing double-digit growth, with clear prospects for further development, particularly with the Milan-Cortina 2026 Olympics on the horizon. This renewed influx of international tourism, as highlighted by the 2023 Outlook on Commercial Real Estate produced by CBRE, boosts leisure tourism, further stimulating investments from foreign players, where the penetration rate has risen by around 7%, according to the latest data from Thrends. Hotel chains in Italy have expanded their presence and size, surpassing the threshold of 2,000 properties for the first time, totalling 210,000 rooms: specifically, one in five hotel rooms is owned, operated, or branded by a chain, especially in the upper upscale segment (33%) and luxury segment (50%). The three key directives in this regard are: authentic and local experiences, renovation and redevelopment, wellness, and well-being.

The first surprising fact is that the hospitality sector is the only segment of Real Estate that has not seen a drop in supply despite rising prices due to inflation and increased renovation costs. At the same time, as has long been the case in the fashion world, the luxury segment has ultra-segmented, meaning that under one brand label, a certain variety of offerings can be found, broadening the customer base.

Focusing now on the lake area, when discussing hospitality, two names primarily come to mind: Lake Como and Lake Garda. My hope is that soon the third will be included as well, which for now remains a niche: Lake d’Iseo. The Lake Garda market is incredible, consistently producing impressive numbers, and is known for its family-run establishments. As for Lake Como, if we think about what it was like twenty years ago, there were barely any hotels. Today, this area boasts 236 hotels, with nearly 7,000 rooms. There are nine five-star luxury hotels, with an average rate of almost €1,900 per night, and peaks of €15,000-20,000.

The pipeline for future openings on Lake Como includes about ten properties belonging to the world’s top brands, counting Belmond and Ritz-Carlton. It is important to note that penetration has not been easy, mainly due to the lack of available properties: often, they are small or historical, with significant structural constraints. The historical factor is highly appreciated by tourists but challenging to manage – just think that most of the time it is not possible to merge or modify spaces architecturally. And the fact that, despite this, we have ten potential properties in the pipeline over the next three years is incredible. The driving force can be found in the American clientele and the publicity these areas have received from celebrities, making them a point of interest for investors.

On the mountain front, in the last five years, significant interest has developed here, also for practical reasons. One of the biggest problems for hoteliers in seasonal coastal areas has always been finding qualified staff willing to work for six months a year. This is why many chains have decided to open a complementary property in the mountains so that the same team can cover the entire season.