When measuring the activity of an airline, the first indicator used is the number of passengers. This is a convenient and intuitive indicator, no doubt, but it has a serious flaw: in air transport the slogan “one is one” is as misleading as ever, because a single ticket in Business Class can be worth as much as ten in Economy, or as much as hundreds of low cost tickets from 9.90.
The same principle applies throughout the tourism sector, including hotels. It is commendable and democratic to equip oneself to attract flows of tourists of all budgets from abroad, but from an economic point of view it is above all important that Italy attracts the wealthiest travelers, who can circulate as many resources as possible in a system tourist severely tried by the long Covid crisis.
And here Italy suffers from some weaknesses. It may seem a paradox, for a country with our traditions, but the offer of luxury hotels in Italy, even if present, does not stand out for particular strength in comparison with that of some foreign countries our direct competitors; moreover, hotel chains are not adequately present with us, which for international tourists are an important guide to choice, whether they are standard hotels, which guarantee the customer to find them identical to Bangkok as in New York, or whether they have a strong personality but appear in a catalog / collection that the international customer has already been able to experience and trusts, not to mention the possibility of incentives that build customer loyalty, just as happens with airlines.
Having said this, it is a positive example in view of the resumption of post-pandemic tourism in Italy which reopens, after a restyling, the luxury hotel “IL Tornabuoni”, a five-star hotel in Florence in the heart of the city, located along Via Tornabuoni in the historic 12th century Palazzo Minerbetti. This AG Group hotel marks the debut of The Unbound Collection by Hyatt brand in Italy, known for its independent hotels. The new franchise partnership allows AG Group to leverage Hyatt’s global distribution network and award-winning World of Hyatt guest loyalty program, while remaining free to maintain IL Tornabuoni’s individuality and independence, establishing itself as a property exclusive in Florence. With this opening it allows The Unbound Collection by Hyatt brand to debut in Italy and sign the first Hyatt hotel in Tuscany.
The historic building of IL Tornabuoni was acquired by Hines European Core Fund (HECF) in 2016. It dates back to the 12th century and is spread over six floors, and of these five are destined for the five-star luxury lifestyle hotel, for a total of over 5,000 square meters. All in the historic center of Florence, which is one of the fundamental cards that Italy is playing in the relaunch of tourism after the long night of the coronavirus.