Case studies

Four projects, each with the problem, what I did and what changed.

Luxury repositioning

Grand Hotel San Pietro

Taormina, Sicily, 2022 to 2024

The challenge

A five-star hotel priced well below its potential, with a team missing key roles and no presence in the American luxury trade.

What I did

Oversaw the physical renovation and redesigned the rate architecture.
Selected the feeder markets and opened the US luxury trade through Preferred Hotels & Resorts, Serandipians and Internova.
Recruited the missing roles, among them an F&B manager and a guest-relations manager, and rewrote service procedures to luxury standards.
Coached the general manager role from administrative to leadership-driven.

The result

Revenue from €2.8 million to €7.3 million. Average daily rate from €350 to €720. Booking.com score from 8.0 to 9.3.

Context. The owner's €8 million renovation and the hotel's entry into Preferred Hotels & Resorts were reported by L'Agenzia di Viaggi and Guida Viaggi; the group reported a record year for the hotel in 2024.

Commercial relaunch

Hotel Principe di Savoia

Dorchester Collection, Milan, 2008 to 2013

The challenge

Reposition the hotel on the luxury market after a major renovation programme, while it stayed open and the city's competitive set grew.

What I did

Led a 35-person organisation across sales, marketing, communications, digital, revenue and reservations, with a budget of about €2 million.
Grew United States leisure and Middle Eastern business and personally looked after royal families, artists and private clients.
Built co-marketing partnerships with fashion and luxury houses.
Managed the transition out of The Leading Hotels of the World and several crises in a highly unionised environment.

The result

Club dell'Osso named the hotel best Italian congress hotel for 2009/2010.

Context. Reported by Meeting e Congressi in April 2011. Interviews in Mission, 2009 and 2011, cover my work on safety standards and on guests with cultural and religious requirements.

Brand and pre-opening

Nilaa Coral Island

Gaafu Dhaalu Atoll, Maldives, 2025 to 2026

The challenge

A private holding with villas in Italy, Switzerland and Morocco, an alpine chalet and an island under construction, and no brand, team or channels to sell them.

What I did

Designed the governance, operating model and brand architecture of Itaca Luxury Collection.
Created the identity end to end: naming, visual direction, tone of voice, positioning narrative and experiential concept.
Led executive recruitment and defined the pre-opening, PR, marketing and international go-to-market plan for Nilaa.

The result

I led development and pre-opening. Nilaa Coral Island, seven villas on a 3.4-hectare island, opened in October 2026.

Context. Opening reported by Corporate Maldives, 13 October 2026.

Offices and markets from zero

Market entries

Madrid, Fidenza, Southern Europe, 2000 to 2021

The challenge

Three employers, three decades, the same brief: enter a market with nothing in place.

What I did

InterContinental Hotels Group, 2002: opened the Madrid regional marketing office for Spain, Portugal and Andorra, 16 hotels added to the Italian remit.
Value Retail, 2003: built a 15-person team and launched Fidenza Village, opened on 25 June 2003, Value Retail's first Italian village.
Falkensteiner, 2019: created the commercial infrastructure for Italy, France, Spain and Portugal with a seven-person team.

The result

Three working markets, each handed to a team that stayed.

Context. Fidenza Village's opening was reported by Pambianconews and Fashion Magazine in 2003.