It’s been a busy 15 months for Davide Bertilaccio. The seasoned hotelier - whose 30-year career in hospitality includes stints for luxury brands such as Rosewood, Four Seasons, Rocco Forte and Fairmont - was appointed group chief executive of Villa d’Este Hotels last April. 

The brand features a small but mighty portfolio of four Italian gems, including Lake Como's grande dame Villa d’Este, newly refurbished Florence outpost Villa La Massa, and four-star Como properties Palace Hotel and Hotel Barchetta Excelsior. 

Bertilaccio's appointment last spring came months before a prestigious calendar of events kicked off in celebration of Villa d’Este’s 150th season - and he hasn't stopped since. Aspire sat down with the hotelier to discuss the group’s portfolio, growth plans and working with the trade. 

Q. I’m sure most agents and operators are very familiar with Villa d’Este Hotels, but for those that aren’t, can you give an overview of the brand and its properties?

A. We are a very small hotel group. To be honest, what I realised coming to Villa d'Este as an outsider is that many people don't even know that we are a group of hotels, which has been my biggest challenge so far. Villa d’Este is our flagship hotel and doesn’t need an introduction. Villa La Massa in Tuscany is our other five-star luxury property – and I would like it to enjoy much more popularity than it does. 

I have known people at Villa La Massa for over 20 years - most of the former general managers are my good friends. I never thought that one day the property would follow me, but here I am, back at Villa La Massa where I first started. I was expecting the Villa La Massa I knew and to my surprise the property was completely changed due to massive investment by the shareholder over the past few years. We have almost doubled the inventory and added an F&B outlet and a beautiful pool. The place is really out of this world. And the best bit is being a 10-minute drive away from Ponte Vecchio and at the beginning of one of the most iconic roads in Tuscany, the Chiantigiana, which takes you from Florence to Siena, so it’s ideal for car and motorcycle-lovers because the scenery is amazing. We own both Villa d’Este and Villa La Massa and manage Palace Hotel and Hotel Barchetta Excelsior.

Q. You took up the role of group chief executive last April during a significant milestone year. How has it been since taking up the reigns?

A. It's been great. For the first time in my life I can say, although it's not technically true, I'm my own boss. I grew up in companies so I spent a long time with Four Seasons and the seven years prior to this was spent at Rosewood so everything was ruled by corporate, following the trends, going by the books. I'm somebody unfortunately that doesn't like to live an uncomplicated life - I'm a Scorpio! I love the idea of the challenge the shareholders set me, which was very risky: shifting something which is extremely well known into the 21st century, while maintaining the DNA of the brand. 

How am I going to do that? I’ve asked myself that question many times, because I'm coming from ultra-luxury properties - new properties, extremely technological and innovative properties – to something that hasn't changed over the past 150 years.

At Villa d'Este we're known for the number of repeat guests. When I first started the role, I met people who had been coming to the property for over 50 years and it was quite intimidating when you found them walking in the corridors and asking you, ‘Are you the new boss?’. I used to say, it depends on the question you're about to ask! And the question over and over was always: ‘So what are you going to do with Villa d’Este?’.

What people want from Villa d’Este is really maintaining the DNA. Things that guests find in Villa d'Este that would create a problem in any other hotel are very well accepted here and they don't want them to change. So I said how can I translate that in a different approach and shift Villa d'Este into the 21st century? It’s not about coming in here and pretending to be whatever we are not, it’s about going slow and trying to give 95% of my time to working out what the guests want from Villa d'Este – which is preserving this idea of going back in time. 

The moment you drive through the gate, it literally looks like you're going back 50 years. It's like you're going into a completely different dimension. When I came to Villa d'Este and I sat on the veranda and I saw the waiters dressed in the same way I was dressed in the '80s – very formal with a bow tie; black in the evening, white in the day. Serving with cloches; cooking the fillet with the flame next to your table. I realised 35 years later that that would never get old, because it doesn't exist anymore. [These days] everything is fast and informal. This kind of service is priceless. 

Q. It’s a fine line to strike, especially when you’ve got so many repeat clients who like it as it is, but you’ve got instructions from shareholders to keep innovating. You must have to tread quite carefully?

A. It's a fine line of leverage and a lot on the staff. I have some members of the team [who have been with us for decades]. One bartender is on his 42nd season. They will do the best classic cocktails and you could sit there and listen to them talking to you for hours because they have so much to tell you about what Villa d'Este is and what it was and the people they served. There's so much history - and that's the difference. For me, the fine line is maintaining this but then making sure that we cross the border by starting to offer contemporary cocktails, be open to what the world is offering and [listen to what the guests' expectations are].

Q. What changes are you making to Villa d’Este?

A. We are enhancing the product - we recently purchased another building next to us [Villa Belinzaghi, which sits adjacent to Villa d’Este on the shores of Lake Como]. It originally belonged to the Villa d'Este company but was sold in the 1960s. The family really wanted the villa back, so we bought it, and development will kick off shortly. It’s a massive project and should be ready before 2025. The new villa will add more suites, which Villa d’Este is lacking. There will also be a fourth F&B outlet, a destination bar with views of the lake, and another pool. The villa will have the flexibility to be part of the inventory of Villa d’Este or to be rented out by itself. 

Looking after the product at Villa d’Este is a challenge; every year we re-do between 15 and 20 rooms. We still want to maintain the rooms the way they are, so [it's more of a soft renovation] because we want to keep the old entry door and maintain each room’s individual design. My ultimate goal is pleasing the guest, pleasing the shareholders and making sure that Villa d'Este will not live just on the past guests but also the future guests.

From this year forwards, we are also becoming much more proactive in terms of [personalisation]. This is probably what I've been bringing in is an approach to reach out to our guests before they come here and try to diversify the offering with activities - I keep telling the team I don't want quantity and volume, I want quality and exclusivity. They have to be emotional [experiences], I don't want to become too commercial.

Q. Sales-wise, how has 2023 been so far for the group? Would you say the company has fully rebounded from the pandemic?

A. It looks extremely promising. In Italy we live out of North American business - a good 45-47% of Italian generated business comes from the North Americans. It's definitely an irreplaceable market. At Villa d'Este a good 70-75% of guests are North American travellers.

We have definitely fully rebounded [from the pandemic]. I do see a growth in terms of numbers. My biggest goal personally is to be able to extend the season. It's not something that happens quickly because the mentality in Italy is still oriented towards that we are a summer destination, but I think if you're a food or wine-lover, autumn and winter are much better than spring and summer. Winter and autumn tourism gives you the ability to avoid the masses and the crowds. 

Q. What trends are you seeing emerge among your high-end clientele post-pandemic? What would you say affluent travellers are seeking in 2023?

A. There is no price resistance. I think people went crazy; there was a certain desire for travelling above everything. People really wanted to have fun. After all, we have all had two years taken away from our lives. Everybody’s reaction [after the pandemic] was like getting out of a cage - people wanted to live life. And when you want to live life, you don't want to have worries about what you spend, you leave saving until later. I think this will continue. 

Q. Is further expansion on the cards for the group? Are there any other destinations either within Italy or around the world that you have your eye on? 

A. One of the messages I got from the shareholders was to keep expanding, which definitely includes Italy only. I don't think there's any appetite to look elsewhere. The message is always the same: we are looking at properties similar to Villa d'Este and Villa La Massa so we are talking about historical buildings and villas, ideally with a focus on major cities. Top of the list is Venice but also Rome and Florence as well. I really like this idea because I'm sure Villa d'Este could deliver the same values and approach to business in cities like those.

Q. How important is the UK market?

A. It’s our second source market. British people love Italy. They love Tuscany, the Amalfi Coast and Sicily, so there is a natural attachment which we are very proud of.

Q. And how do you support members of the UK travel trade to sell your properties? 

A. We have people assisting us and spreading the word to keep the name of Villa d'Este [front of mind]. We also have long-time trade partners who are very supportive of us. I like to personally contact travel agents who are very supportive and we try to help each other a lot. I think it's a matter of making them familiarised with the product very often. There was a great response when I moved in here because lots of agents knew me from a previous life.

Q. Finally, what is your definition of the word luxury?

A. My personal definition of luxury would be to be able to throw my phone in the lake! The definition of luxury is definitely not tied to luxury goods, I think it's tied to experiences. Boutique is all about experiences that leave you in some sort of inertia. Everything is so reachable to everybody these days. We are so used to luxury goods but emotional experiences [are so important]. We have so little time. My little free time shouldn't be wasted looking at materialistic things, it should be used to live real experiences with people.