Big interview
The inspiration for Rocco Forte Hotels came after Forte Group, a training ground for many hoteliers today, was subject to takeover by Granada and sold off. “So, at the age of 52, I found myself with a little bit of money and nothing to do, and plenty of energy and ambition. So what better than create a new hotel?” Now a worldwide recognised company, well-established in the luxury hotels sector, Rocco Forte Hotels is undeniably a success. “I’m still inspired to continue the work of expanding it further and making it even better in the delivery of service to its customers.”
Unique personality and character The whole idea behind Rocco Forte, the chairman continues, is to create hotels with “individual character” that reflect the country and location they are in and, of course, offer the very best service to its guests. With 15 hotels at present, and a few more on the way Forte is keen to add, the hotel group sets itself apart through its design. “When we first set it up, my sister Olga was involved with setting up the company and she’s the person who deals with all the decorations of the hotels,” he explains. They were keen to avoid the common mistake of looking good but ultimately providing an uncomfortable experience for the guests, one that many designers still make today. “So Olga understood very well what was happening in terms of design, but she also had the practical knowledge to make it comfortable for guests.” With a strong desire to avoid the traditional
grandeur of luxury hotels, Forte set out to create a warm and friendly atmosphere for the staff and customers while still delivering on a professional service. “I think to some degree, we’ve achieved that,” he adds. Another achievement is the hotel’s sense of place, something that every hotel talks about but not many actually deliver on. At Rocco Forte, each hotel is unique in itself. Take Brown’s Hotel in London: “[It was] never built as a hotel, it was a series of townhouses put together in 1837 and it’s a hotel, which is very intimate on Baker Street, right in the centre of Mayfair.” Or Masseria Torre Maizza, located in Puglia, Italy; originally a fortified watchtower that evolved into a farm over generations, Torre Maizza is now part of Rocco Forte Hotel’s family. “Every hotel has its own particular personality and character, but they all carry that same philosophy and same culture, [same] levels of service to the guest.” The Rocco Forte Hotel, he explains, is a family business. Expanding from just him and his sister Olga, Forte’s whole family are a part of the business and are regular visitors to its hotels across Europe. This plays a key role in creating the atmosphere and environment that sets the company apart from other hotels.
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Like everyone in the hospitality industry, Rocco Forte Hotels took a blow during the Covid pandemic. Luckily, the hotel was well financed and helped through various governmental schemes from different countries, such as furlough schemes in the UK, soft loans in Italy and grants in Germany, for example. The staff that continued to work all took a 20% pay cut, including Forte and the other hotel directors. “We managed to scrape by,” explains Forte. “The recovery was pretty dramatic last year; our financial year starts in May, and we had a record year last May 2022 to April 2023.” This is due to the rebound in luxury tourism, that’s been driven particularly by the US. As one of the most important markets for luxury hotels, US tourism makes
Above: Masseria Torre Maizza, Puglia, Italy was originally a fortifi ed watchtower that evolved into a farm over time.
Below: The Kipling Suite at Brown’s Hotel is dedicated to the author who spent time writing at the famous hotel.
Opposite: Sir Rocco Forte’s passion for providing world-class hotel experiences remains undimmed.
“So, at the age of 52, I found myself with a little bit of money and nothing to do, and plenty of energy and ambition. So what better than create a new hotel?”
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Rocco Forte
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