April 16, 2025 • 33 mins
Step into Tuscan luxury with Episode 6 of our Special Hospitality Series in collaboration with Forbes Travel Guide. This week, our "Leaders Behind the Stars" spotlight falls on Roberto Protezione, General Manager of Castelfalfi, a 2,700-acre estate between Florence and Pisa. Under Roberto’s leadership, Castelfalfi transformed from a €250-per-night property into a €1,000+ ultra-luxury destination, earning a Forbes Travel Guide Five-Star rating on its first application.
With nearly two decades of experience in hospitality across Italy and the Middle East, Roberto has redefined Castelfalfi as a premier global luxury destination. The estate features a medieval castle, Tuscany’s largest golf course, an organic winery, a serene wellness spa, and villas amidst rolling historic hills. Recent upgrades include a penthouse suite designed by Stefano Ricci and a new event space for 400 guests.
At the core of Roberto’s vision is a people-first approach to hospitality. “Hospitality is really about caring for others,” he shares, emphasizing passion over technical skills.
Don’t miss this inspiring conversation with a leader redefining luxury in Tuscany.
We will be releasing new episodes every Thursday—don’t miss this exceptional 10-part series featuring hospitality leaders from Beverly Hills to the Seychelles.
Season 5 Launched Jan 15th. New Episodes Every Weds! Check out our first 4 Seasons.
https://www.traveltrendspodcast.com/
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:01):
What advice would you give to the new boarders?
Generally, I say to my team inour trainings, especially at the
beginning of new boarding, isto look at themselves and see if
there is the passion for takingcare of the people, because at
the end of hospitality it'sreally caring about the others.
(00:22):
When you either welcome someonein the restaurant or taking
care of his room or welcoming onthe lobby on the arrival, it's
just caring about them.
So if you strive to do that foryour friends, your family, even
the people that you don't know,probably you have something
(00:46):
inside that is good for thehospitality.
Speaker 2 (00:56):
Hello everyone and welcome back to our special
hospitality series, season 2, inpartnership with our friends at
Forbes Travel Guide.
As you heard in the firstepisodes, we are focused on
highlighting the leaders behindthe stars, and we started in
London, we went to Beverly Hillsand then to New York, and in
this episode, we are going backto Europe and specifically, the
(01:16):
heart of Tuscany.
I'm really looking forward tobringing this conversation to
you, because I had the privilegeto meet the GM, roberto
Protizzioni, at the event and wehad a drink the night before
and I got to learn more abouthis family and his background
and working in luxuryhospitality, and it's really
remarkable.
He spent the first 10 yearsworking at Starwood Hotels.
(01:36):
He moved to Abu Dhabi fromItaly.
He started working withMarriott while he was there and
then he moved back to Italyabout eight years ago to Tuscany
and then, two years ago,started with Castle Falfi and
has now been able to chart theircourse to become the newest
Forbes travel guide five-starproperty.
(01:57):
So you're going to get to learnabout his leadership.
But I also want to highlightthis extraordinary property and
encourage those of you listeningto this to multitask and pull
up their website, which isCastleFalficom.
That's C-A-S-T-E-L-F-A-L-F-ICastleFalficom.
You can also just Google that,but what you'll see when you
(02:19):
check out their website is thatthis extraordinary property is
spread out over 2,700 acres.
It's right between Florence andPisa.
It's a medieval castle that hasan ancient Borgo nearby, which
is a small medieval town withstone buildings and Borgo's
where the center of agriculturaland artisanal activity.
This property dates all the wayback in the area to Roman times
(02:43):
.
But not only does it have thisremarkable history and culture.
It is also the site ofTuscany's largest golf club.
They have their own winery andagricultural estate for growing
organic foods.
They have a relaxing wellnessspa, of course, and they have
many tranquil Tuscan villas tochoose from.
So, between Roberto'sextraordinary leadership and
(03:04):
this magnificent property,you'll see why this is now a
Forbes Travel Guide five-starranked property, and I had the
privilege to speak to Robertothe night before we were
recording, since we gotintroduced to each other and we
were at the Museum ofOceanography, which is
extraordinary, and if you'regoing to Monaco, it is
(03:24):
absolutely a must visit.
It was actually founded byPrince Albert I way back in 1910
.
He was a sea explorer and ascientist, and Albert II, who is
his great-great-grandson, whowe had the privilege to be in
the presence of, and to meet at,the Forbes Travel Guide at the
summit in Monaco.
He welcomed us there that nightand we had a chance to walk
(03:46):
around and be able to see thisextraordinary aquarium and this
beautiful building, and it was aperfect place for a luxury
hospitality event, and so I hada chance to speak to Roberto
that evening, to get to know himbetter before we sat down for
this conversation.
Now, when we recorded, we alsorecorded video, so we have
(04:06):
highlights that I definitelyencourage you to check out on
our social channels, which youcan find at both at Forbes
Travel Guide as well as atTravel Trends Podcast, which you
can find us on LinkedIn,youtube and Instagram, and
definitely check out ForbesTravel Guide on Instagram as
well, so that you can seehighlights from these
conversations.
(04:27):
Now let's welcome RobertoProtizioni to this conversation.
It's great to have you onTravel Trends.
Thanks so much for joining us.
Speaker 1 (04:34):
Thank you, Dan, for having me here.
It's a great pleasure to staywith you in Monaco.
It's a really beautiful place.
Speaker 2 (04:41):
Indeed, and we had such a spectacular night last
night at the aquarium andobviously getting a chance to
know each other, and itcertainly made me that much more
looking forward to ourconversation today, because I
got a better understanding ofyour background, your family,
and so I want our audience toget all of that same
appreciation.
So, roberto, let's start withthat.
I think people heard from theintroduction your impressive
(05:01):
background.
I told everyone they have to govisit CastleFalficom as part of
this interview because it issuch an extraordinary property.
But let's start with a bit ofyour background and how you
ended up here at the ForbesTravel Guide Conference.
So tell us, roberto, yourbackground in the hospitality
industry.
Yes, thank you.
Speaker 1 (05:18):
I've been in hospitality for the last almost
20 years now.
I've been a GM in differentproperties in the last 10 years
and before I used to start mycareer in hospitality and
revenue management forproperties in different
locations.
Then, after that, which Iactually love to work there I
(05:41):
moved to the operation in theback side of the moon and I've
been for five years in Belmontas a GM here in Tuscany and then
after that, the last threeyears I joined this incredible
project of Castelfalfi of therenovation, and the season that
(06:03):
is going to start will be mythird season there.
Speaker 2 (06:05):
Congratulations.
It's amazing, it's a remarkablestory.
I mean certainly from you knowyou're growing up in Italy and
then having the opportunity towork in the Middle East and then
coming back to Italy, and Iknow you've lived in several
places within Italy, but clearlynow Tuscany is home and has
been for a number of years, andyou live really in the heart of
it.
You know, between Florence andPisa, this extraordinary
property.
So tell us a little bit aboutCastle Falfi and that renovation
(06:28):
, because I didn't get into thatin the introduction and I'm
sure our listeners will be keento know as they're looking at
the website how did thisincredible property come to be
and now, of course, getrecognized as a Forbes Travel
Guide five-star property.
But yeah, tell us a little bitabout Castle Falfi and that
renovation.
Speaker 1 (06:43):
Yeah, actually Castle Falfi has been.
It's a piece of Tuscany,literally, because it's in a
state of 1,100 hectares, in theheart of Tuscany, between
Florence, pisa and Siena, as yousaid, close to San Gimignano,
and has been for many, manycenturies a strategic place
between the two cities, florenceand Pisa, and has been for
(07:08):
centuries a farm, actually, witha castle, a proper castle, with
a medieval borgo, a huge estatethat more than 20 years ago,
became organic, full organic,and in the last years it has
been part of a huge renovationand owned by the previous owner,
(07:29):
which used to be TUI, theGerman tour operator.
That has been the vision ofthis property to become a luxury
property.
Then, three years ago, theactual owner, which is Mr Loya,
(07:56):
decided to fall in love withthis beautiful piece of land and
decided to buy the entireestate, which are more than 150
rooms and suites, plus the villa, the spa, which is brand new,
the restaurants and the entirehotel, which, at the moment, we
completed.
And we just last year we justgot, as you said, the five stars
(08:19):
for Forbes, which has been agreat recognition for our team.
Honestly, because I'm veryproud of them, and getting the
five stars at the first year ofapplication.
It's quite unique, honestly.
After that, we are going tocomplete the last piece of
(08:40):
Castafaf, which is the new event, space Colaria, that will be
ready at the beginning of theseason and will be a great
addition for our events inCastelfalfi.
Speaker 2 (08:53):
That's great.
Congratulations again on theFord Travel Guide five-star
rating.
That's obviously a hugeaccomplishment, as you well know
, and certainly the theme forthis series is leaders behind
the stars, and you're certainlyone of them, and your team is as
well, because, as youhighlighted, this is actually in
a year you've been able toachieve this status and it's
very difficult to attain.
(09:13):
It's very difficult to tomaintain that.
So I just wanted to start offon that note, because what does
it mean to you and the team tohave achieved this status?
Tell us a little bit about theprocess to get that recognition
and then ultimately now whatthat means for yourself, the
team and the property.
Speaker 1 (09:32):
It has been a long journey, honestly, over the last
two years because, as you canimagine, moving from a property
that used to sell 250 euros asan average rate to over 1,000
that we are at the moment.
That means not only renovate theentire property in terms of the
(09:55):
assets but, most importantly,elevate the service accordingly,
and this has been the journeythat we did in the last two
years, in the last two seasons,with our team.
We increased the number ofpeople, train and retrain a lot
to the team in order to make theall the standards for us normal
(10:20):
and working on the role playsin order to really elevate the
service at the standard weapplied last year for Forbes,
honestly getting to see what westill have to do, but luckily
(10:41):
our service level that, I haveto be honest, in the last season
has been a great recognitionfrom our guests in terms of
guest satisfaction.
We knew that it was already agood point, but I we always want
to raise the bar and so we'reexpecting something to do even
(11:02):
better, but still we got thefive stars.
In December, when I got thecall from Forbes still under the
handbag, I was very, very happyfor my team because, as you can
imagine, after three years ofhard work, training, retraining
session meetings to try to dothe things well, getting this
(11:28):
recognition has been a greatachievement, especially for my
team, honestly.
Speaker 2 (11:33):
Yeah, no, that's amazing and I'm thrilled for you
, and I just wanted tounderstand a bit more about what
that actually means now thatyou've achieved this status, and
certainly from what I've cometo understand a bit more about
what that actually means nowthat you've achieved this status
, and certainly from what I'vecome to understand, roberto,
achieving those service levelsjust in and of themselves is a
reason for guests to come backand visit again and again, but
clearly, once you've achievedthat status, there is
(11:55):
recognition that will likelylead to more customers
discovering Castle Felfi.
So tell us about some of theinitial benefits maybe you've
seen from achieving thefive-star status and what are
some of the things you'reexpecting to see over the next
year as a result of achievingthat, and then, obviously, the
full intention to maintain thatfor many years to come.
Speaker 1 (12:14):
I can tell you that in the last two weeks, since the
list has been launched in themiddle of February, we saw
already some increase ofreservation because the people
have seen Castelfarfi in many,many articles and posts on
(12:35):
Instagram, on different socialmedia.
So we saw that there is moreattention to Castelfaffi because
, of course, the fact that weare the only new Italian
five-star property put us in aspecial stage in terms of
visibility, and we arebenefiting of this in terms of
(12:56):
sales.
What does it mean for us in thenext season and for the next
years?
It's just to be even better interms of service, because now
the expectations are, of course,higher from our guests, because
they will see the five stars onour entrance and they will
(13:18):
expect this kind of service, andwe have to reconfirm what we
already did of good in the lastseason.
But, most importantly, we don'twant to stop here.
We want to retain the fivestars for the next years, of
course, and continue to be oneof the best hotels in Italy and
(13:40):
Europe that we have been in thelast year.
Speaker 2 (13:42):
Yeah, most definitely .
I'm sure that will continue,and one of the other things that
I'm also keen to understand isthat this is your opportunity as
well to attend the summit inMonaco, where we are together.
And just remind me, roberto, isthis your first Forbes Travel
Guide to Summit event?
Speaker 1 (13:59):
Yes, it's my first time in Forbes Summit and Monaco
.
It's a beautiful location forthat.
I've never been in the previousproperty in the previous events
.
But to say that this location,in this event, it's looking very
, very interesting, even for thepanels.
Speaker 2 (14:17):
Yeah, no, I totally agree.
I mean it's a perfect place forit, certainly for the height of
luxury hospitality.
Thankfully for you, you don'thave to travel too far, but
there's a big difference betweentuscany and monaco and there's
so many beautiful places withineurope.
But you now get to have thechance to be here for a few days
and rub shoulders with theother top gms from around the
world and many people within theforbes travel guide network.
(14:38):
So I keen, given it is yourfirst time here at the summit it
was my first year, last year inLas Vegas and this year for me
it's a larger conference, it'smuch more international.
I mean, last year was fantastic, but this is really next level
I'm keen to get your firstimpressions of being at the
Forbes Travel Guide Summit.
What are some of the benefitsyou've realized so far from
(14:59):
being here over the last coupleof days?
Speaker 1 (15:02):
One of the most interesting things is having in
one place most of the bestatelier in the world, which is
very interesting even to sharesome opinions about the service,
about our industry, which is,in my opinion, the best industry
to work with, and also to learnsome news, some new approach
(15:27):
about AI, about the service,about the people that are doing
our industry so interesting.
So it's a great, I think,inspiring for us as Atelier to
be here.
Speaker 2 (15:40):
Yeah, no for sure.
I mean.
Obviously, you highlighted thenetworking and then the learning
opportunities.
I've been able to attend a fewof the sessions as well.
There's been some fantasticspeakers and some really
interesting breakouts, one ofthem on luxury travel trends
that I found really interesting.
And for you, when it comes toactually making these
connections, you've been in theindustry, as you mentioned, for
20 years.
When it comes to actuallymaking these connections, you've
been in the industry, as youmentioned, for 20 years.
(16:01):
Do you have quite a fewindustry colleagues here that
you already know, or is thisreally kind of a new audience
and network for you, becauseclearly a lot of people that are
here have been coming back,been a part of the network for
many years?
Although Forbes Travel Guide isexpanding globally and the fact
that it's in Europe andinternational for the first time
, they're certainly drawing awider audience globally, and the
fact that it's in Europe andinternational for the first time
(16:22):
, this is certainly drawing awider audience.
But, yeah, when you look aroundhere at the sessions, how many
people are known to you and howmany people are new?
Speaker 1 (16:27):
Actually, let's say half and half, because there are
many, many friends that I knowsince I started to work and are
now friends or GMs or otherleaders in the industry that I
used to know the last 20 years,and some others are new and are
(16:50):
very interesting to know.
I know people in Europe, ofcourse, in the US and the other
parts, so this is a goodopportunity for me to expand my
networking in other parts of theworld that I didn't work with.
So it's a good mix between oldfriends and new friends.
Speaker 2 (17:12):
Yeah, absolutely.
You're in great company here,that's for sure.
Speaker 1 (17:16):
Yesterday we spent time together and knowing each
other has been a greatexperience, a great example of
what forbes summit could be yeahfor sure.
Speaker 2 (17:25):
It was actually really interesting because
roberto and I were supposed torecord yesterday afternoon and
there was a few complicationswith the timing because I was
back to back and he was runninga bit behind, and then we ended
up having to reschedule fortoday and we literally uh,
bumped into each other lastnight getting a drink, and I was
talking to jeanette and were aswell, and then we all of a
sudden had the realization whenyou looked and were like wait a
(17:47):
second, you're Dan from TravelTrends.
I'm like, you're Roberto.
I was supposed to, and it was areally nice moment and we had,
as you know, we spent a couplehours hanging out together, we
got pictures at the top of thebalcony, I got pictures for you,
for your family, and you kindlytook some for me as well, and
certainly I instantly felt acamaraderie with you and I think
it's a big component of beinghere, like the relationships you
(18:08):
develop, and then, clearly, theopportunity to work with other
properties and know other GMsand to get to know the travel
agencies.
That's another area that ForbesTravel Guide has expanded to.
There's actually a whole groupof travel agents that are here
that are now Forbes Travel Guiderated and clearly they're
looking to network with GMs likeyourself to bring their guests
(18:30):
to your property.
So I appreciate you mentioningthat, because it certainly has
been my feeling I mean last year, but even more so this year.
It's just such a dynamiccommunity that exists around
Forbes Travel Guide.
So, yeah, tell us about someother opportune meetings that
you might have had or otherpeople that you've connected
with that are new.
That might lead to newopportunities for your business.
Speaker 1 (18:53):
I was mentioning the supplier side because he has
some good supplier, some of themI used to know by name, some
others are brand new for me andall of them they are giving me
some opportunities to thinkabout or rethink about my
business in order to elevate theservice or just introduce new
(19:16):
features to my hotels.
Introduction new feature to myhotels or, in some cases, change
the existing supply withsomething which are better in
terms of quality or in terms ofcost, sometimes because the
costs are important as well forour industry.
So I think another part ofForbes Summit is the opportunity
(19:42):
to get in contact with peoplethat are in our industry but
maybe are working in differentcontinental nations or countries
so are not directly connectedto you daily by day, so are not
direct connect to you daily byday.
So even in this case, ouropportunity of business, like
(20:10):
with the travel agency that youmentioned or with our colleagues
, because sometimes even thecolleagues could be an important
opportunity to increase thenetworking for maybe opportunity
in the future to collaborate inCastafafi.
Speaker 2 (20:40):
Who knows will feature at the end, with
companies like Mindstream andthe wellness side that are
focused on music and wellness.
And there's some reallyfascinating partners suppliers,
vendors however you want torefer to them, but within the
Forbes Travel Guide network thatclearly are looking to connect
with someone like yourself tomake recommendations for their
linens, their card designs, likeMark Friedland, of course,
(21:04):
which I've met him last year andsaw him again earlier today,
who is very keen to be on thepodcast as well because they
make the cards for the AcademyAwards.
And you know, as you know, as ahotel GM, one of the special
things that you do is make ahandwritten note for a guest as
they come in, and that issomething that is tactile and it
is really meaningful in such adigital age that we're in today.
(21:25):
But let's go back to CastleFalfi.
I mean, after you leave here inMonaco, you're going back to
this extraordinary property andyou were starting to highlight
what's coming next I would lovefor you to be able to share with
our listeners, given that thisseries over the 10 episodes is
launching kind of spring summerand many people are probably
still making summer plans.
(21:46):
I know we are as a family anditaly's definitely on our list.
Um, not that we're coming tocastle felfi I'm definitely not
advocating for that, roberto butI'd love to, uh, for you to be
able to share you know what aresome of the best times of the
year to visit tuscany and whatare some of the developments you
have planned for castle felfiover the course of 2025 and into
the future.
Speaker 1 (22:06):
Yes, the season is waiting for me and the opening,
with a lot of business that, we,thanks God, we have on the
books and is waiting for us forthe opening.
We just are completing therenovation, the last part of the
hotel that we renovated onerestaurant this winter.
(22:29):
We are just going to open a newevent space that I mentioned
earlier, which is Haria diCastelfalfi, which is a huge, is
the biggest event space forMICE events, for social events,
for corporate events.
It's up to 400 people that weare literally built in a part of
(22:55):
Castelfalfi and we'll be readyfor the opening and we'll be a
great addition for Castelfalfi,especially for social and
corporate events.
And then, on top of that, wejust opened, at the end of
November last year, the newsuite in the castle, completely
designed by Stefano Ricci, whichis a Florentine designer.
(23:20):
He designed this new hugepenthouse suite, two-bedroom
suite that we have in our castle, which is really a unique
experience that we can provideto our clients, with butler
service included.
And on top of that, there aremany, many other activities that
(23:40):
we planned in the last winterfor our clients that they can
have in our estate, from cookingclass to pizza class, from
truffle hunting to the new spatreatments that we have designed
.
Going back to, when is the besttime to come to Castelfarfi?
(24:04):
I think that from the end ofApril till, let's say, mid of
October, the season is reallyperfect because it's not very
hot, it's close to Florence butit's much cooler than Florence.
So you can really enjoy thestay with us over the summer,
when probably in the city it'shottest, and come back in the
(24:30):
evening to enjoy the resort lifein Caselfalfi with our spa,
with our pools, with our tenniscourt, paddle court and all our
activities that are ready forour clients.
Speaker 2 (24:44):
So it's really a perfect time to come and visit
and one of the things that wasrunning through my mind as I was
preparing for our conversation,looking at the website, is how
long someone should stay, giventhere's so much to do.
I think you could spend a monththere, but like what?
What do you typically recommend?
Is it a week?
I mean, are some people comingfor a long weekend?
What is the uh, the typicalduration of a stay and what
(25:04):
would you recommend?
Speaker 1 (25:07):
yeah, because it's there are so many opportunities
to do in the fashion that eventhe clients they stay with us
one week at the end they said Ididn't do that.
I didn't do that, I have tocome back because I have to do
this.
So that, because there are alot of things, I think honestly
that four or five days it's theright time to come, and for the
(25:28):
stay, because you have the timeto enjoy the resource life, like
the spa, the golf, the sportsor the food activities, and also
visiting Tuscany, if it's thefirst time that you are in
Tuscany, because there are manyspots around us that are really
close by and achievable withinone hour or even less sometimes,
(25:50):
like San Gimignano, volterra,monteriggioni, siena, pisa,
florence and so many others.
The seaside, with Fontenot Army, which is just one hour.
So there are many things to do.
And five days, I think it's agood time to spend with Castle
Farfing and maybe come back nextyear.
Speaker 2 (26:10):
Who knows Exactly?
Yeah, definitely.
So, speaking of that and travelplans, I know you have a young
daughter, so you've achievedthis very important recognition
and renovated this hotel, butobviously everyone needs a break
, and especially when you've gota young family.
Clearly, you live in one of themost beautiful places in the
world, so it's probably you knowyou don't have to tear yourself
(26:33):
away from it, but I'm sure itis inspirational to go and visit
other extraordinary propertiesand have the opportunity to see
other places and what.
So I was genuinely curious,roberto what's on your list for
2025?
What else do you want to go andvisit?
What stands out to you in termsof regions?
What do you have planned withyour family?
If you don't mind me asking,it's a pleasure.
Speaker 1 (26:54):
I love to travel with my family and spend time with
them, with my daughters and mywife, our dog Bianca, dog Bianca
.
So I'll say that we generallytravel.
Since we have Bianca, wegenerally travel in Italy for
using my car, and my nextprobably my next trip will be
(27:15):
Naples, which is a city that Ilove.
I'm from the south of Italy andI love the south of Italy, the
Sicily, the Amalfi Coast, naplesas a city, the Puglia near the
side, so the next one will be inNaples and probably the summer
I will spend in Puglia, on thisside, which I love.
(27:38):
The fish, and probably that isone of the best fish in Italy.
Speaker 2 (27:43):
Yeah, no, naples.
I mean I knew that you werefrom that region of Italy from
our conversation last night andI think I'd mentioned to you
that the Amalfi Coast we'venever been and that's really
high up on my list and to tryand figure out when is best to
go.
And when I was doing someresearch on flights, I actually
realized that there's directflights from Nice to Naples.
So I've been thinking aboutmaybe we could do the south of
(28:03):
France and southern Italy thissummer as our family trip.
But that's the one thing that'samazing about Europe is how
close everything is, becausemost of our listeners are in the
US, so when they're thinkingabout traveling to Europe and
certainly one of the bigtakeaways for me being here in
Europe again is just howextraordinary Europe is.
I mean, it's just there's somuch to offer with the culture
(28:26):
and the cuisine and and clearly,if no one's been to Tuscany
before, castle Falfi is the way.
If you've been to Italy before,it just sounds like Castle
Falfi is one of the bestintroductions you could have to
to this beautiful country.
But I appreciate you sharingwhere you're headed to next.
I just had a couple lastquestions for you and one of
them I'm always keen to get froman executive like yourself
(28:48):
who's achieved such success, isfor those people out there
listening to this that areworking their way up in the
industry, especially inhospitality.
I mean, certainly one of thebiggest themes of our Travel
Trends podcast when we startedthe show was trying to share
what recommendations executiveswould have for people that are
coming up.
Advice, and clearly you sayyou've accomplished a lot.
(29:08):
So I'd love to hear for thoselisteners out there that are
looking at you, roberto, andmany of the people that are
going to like this on Instagramor on LinkedIn and I can see
it's a lot of the people thatwork across the properties and
so they're clearly trying tostay connected and to learn what
they should do to rise up intheir careers.
So what advice would you havefor them?
Speaker 1 (29:30):
then generally say to my team in in our trainings,
especially at the beginning,onboarding is to look themselves
and see if there is the passionfor taking care of the people,
because at the end, hospitalityis really caring about the
others.
When you either welcome someonein the restaurant or taking care
(29:53):
of his room or welcoming on thelobby at the arrival, it's just
caring about them.
So if you strive to do that foryour friends, your family, your
, even the people that you don'tknow, probably you have the
something inside that is goodfor the hospitality, because all
(30:16):
the standards I can teach tothe, to my team, but the, the
passion to taking care of theothers, is something that either
you have within you or you willnot.
I cannot teach to anyone else.
So if you think that you havethis and you stay well when the
others are well, you are a goodperson for the hospitality and
(30:39):
this industry is right for you.
Then all the standards and allthe tricks we can teach you and
we are happy to teach you, butthe passion is something that
you have to find yourself.
Speaker 2 (30:55):
That's great advice, roberto, and I'm sure many
people will be looking toconnect with you after this and
certainly learn more aboutCastle Felf.
We've mentioned the website, ofcourse, but where would you
point them to either get intouch with you or to learn more
about the property, becausethere's going to be travel
advisors listening to this,hospitality executives and also
travelers that are justgenuinely interested.
(31:16):
So, given that diverse audience, where would you recommend or
point them towards, roberto?
Speaker 1 (31:22):
Well, of course, our website it's the first point of
contact but also our socialmedia accounts on Instagram, on
Facebook and my personal accountas well.
I'm on Instagram as RobertoProtezione, or you can even
email me on robertoprotezione atcassefalficom for for any
(31:45):
getting contact for us, for anyrequests that you want to
discuss with me or share with me.
I am more than happy to get newfriends to our contacts.
Speaker 2 (31:56):
Fantastic.
I appreciate you sharing youremail address.
I'm sure you're going to hearfrom a few travel advisors we
had last year in Las Vegas.
As some of our listeners know,in season one we had this
amazing entrepreneurial femaleexecutive, ellie, who created
Ellie Wagner.
She created Wagner BespokeTravel and she was a former
lawyer and she's got aremarkable story.
(32:17):
She's got young kids and she'sbuilt a very successful travel
agency business, and how she didthat was connecting with hotel
GMs like yourself and then beingable to make the personal
connection when her guests werecoming to stay there, because
she has a very high net worthclientele, and so I appreciate
you extending that and I lookforward to keeping in touch.
Speaker 1 (32:35):
Thank you, dan, and thank you everyone to listen to
us and we're in Tuscany, sowhenever you want, we're here.
Speaker 2 (32:42):
Thanks so much for joining us on our latest episode
of Travel Trends and ourspecial hospitality series in
partnership with our friends atForbes Travel Guide.
As you've heard, in this seriesin season two has all been about
the leaders behind the stars,and certainly Roberto
Protizzioni, the GM of CastleFalfi in the heart of Tuscany,
is a terrific example of that Abeautiful property, an
(33:04):
exceptional leader and clearly agreat team.
So congratulations to all ofyou again on that recognition
and status and certainly wishingyou all the best for the year
ahead.
Now, next week, we're going tocontinue our focus on hotel gms
and we're going to theseychelles, and all of these
conversations were recorded live, of course, at the summit in
monaco, the forbes travel guideannual, but we are going to be
(33:27):
profiling an extraordinaryproperty in the Seychelles next
week.
So make sure you are subscribedon the streaming platform of
your choice Apple or Spotify.
And then, don't forget, we postclips and highlights on our
social channels, both at TravelTrends Podcast as well as at
Forbes Travel Guide, onInstagram, linkedin and YouTube.
So be sure to check out clipsand highlights there.
(33:49):
And until next week, safetravels.
What advice would you give to the new boarders?
Generally, I say to my team inour trainings, especially at the
beginning of new boarding, isto look at themselves and see if
there is the passion for takingcare of the people, because at
the end of hospitality it'sreally caring about the others.
(00:22):
When you either welcome someonein the restaurant or taking
care of his room or welcoming onthe lobby on the arrival, it's
just caring about them.
So if you strive to do that foryour friends, your family, even
the people that you don't know,probably you have something
(00:46):
inside that is good for thehospitality.
Speaker 2 (00:56):
Hello everyone and welcome back to our special
hospitality series, season 2, inpartnership with our friends at
Forbes Travel Guide.
As you heard in the firstepisodes, we are focused on
highlighting the leaders behindthe stars, and we started in
London, we went to Beverly Hillsand then to New York, and in
this episode, we are going backto Europe and specifically, the
(01:16):
heart of Tuscany.
I'm really looking forward tobringing this conversation to
you, because I had the privilegeto meet the GM, roberto
Protizzioni, at the event and wehad a drink the night before
and I got to learn more abouthis family and his background
and working in luxuryhospitality, and it's really
remarkable.
He spent the first 10 yearsworking at Starwood Hotels.
(01:36):
He moved to Abu Dhabi fromItaly.
He started working withMarriott while he was there and
then he moved back to Italyabout eight years ago to Tuscany
and then, two years ago,started with Castle Falfi and
has now been able to chart theircourse to become the newest
Forbes travel guide five-starproperty.
(01:57):
So you're going to get to learnabout his leadership.
But I also want to highlightthis extraordinary property and
encourage those of you listeningto this to multitask and pull
up their website, which isCastleFalficom.
That's C-A-S-T-E-L-F-A-L-F-ICastleFalficom.
You can also just Google that,but what you'll see when you
(02:19):
check out their website is thatthis extraordinary property is
spread out over 2,700 acres.
It's right between Florence andPisa.
It's a medieval castle that hasan ancient Borgo nearby, which
is a small medieval town withstone buildings and Borgo's
where the center of agriculturaland artisanal activity.
This property dates all the wayback in the area to Roman times
(02:43):
.
But not only does it have thisremarkable history and culture.
It is also the site ofTuscany's largest golf club.
They have their own winery andagricultural estate for growing
organic foods.
They have a relaxing wellnessspa, of course, and they have
many tranquil Tuscan villas tochoose from.
So, between Roberto'sextraordinary leadership and
(03:04):
this magnificent property,you'll see why this is now a
Forbes Travel Guide five-starranked property, and I had the
privilege to speak to Robertothe night before we were
recording, since we gotintroduced to each other and we
were at the Museum ofOceanography, which is
extraordinary, and if you'regoing to Monaco, it is
(03:24):
absolutely a must visit.
It was actually founded byPrince Albert I way back in 1910
.
He was a sea explorer and ascientist, and Albert II, who is
his great-great-grandson, whowe had the privilege to be in
the presence of, and to meet at,the Forbes Travel Guide at the
summit in Monaco.
He welcomed us there that nightand we had a chance to walk
(03:46):
around and be able to see thisextraordinary aquarium and this
beautiful building, and it was aperfect place for a luxury
hospitality event, and so I hada chance to speak to Roberto
that evening, to get to know himbetter before we sat down for
this conversation.
Now, when we recorded, we alsorecorded video, so we have
(04:06):
highlights that I definitelyencourage you to check out on
our social channels, which youcan find at both at Forbes
Travel Guide as well as atTravel Trends Podcast, which you
can find us on LinkedIn,youtube and Instagram, and
definitely check out ForbesTravel Guide on Instagram as
well, so that you can seehighlights from these
conversations.
(04:27):
Now let's welcome RobertoProtizioni to this conversation.
It's great to have you onTravel Trends.
Thanks so much for joining us.
Speaker 1 (04:34):
Thank you, Dan, for having me here.
It's a great pleasure to staywith you in Monaco.
It's a really beautiful place.
Speaker 2 (04:41):
Indeed, and we had such a spectacular night last
night at the aquarium andobviously getting a chance to
know each other, and itcertainly made me that much more
looking forward to ourconversation today, because I
got a better understanding ofyour background, your family,
and so I want our audience toget all of that same
appreciation.
So, roberto, let's start withthat.
I think people heard from theintroduction your impressive
(05:01):
background.
I told everyone they have to govisit CastleFalficom as part of
this interview because it issuch an extraordinary property.
But let's start with a bit ofyour background and how you
ended up here at the ForbesTravel Guide Conference.
So tell us, roberto, yourbackground in the hospitality
industry.
Yes, thank you.
Speaker 1 (05:18):
I've been in hospitality for the last almost
20 years now.
I've been a GM in differentproperties in the last 10 years
and before I used to start mycareer in hospitality and
revenue management forproperties in different
locations.
Then, after that, which Iactually love to work there I
(05:41):
moved to the operation in theback side of the moon and I've
been for five years in Belmontas a GM here in Tuscany and then
after that, the last threeyears I joined this incredible
project of Castelfalfi of therenovation, and the season that
(06:03):
is going to start will be mythird season there.
Speaker 2 (06:05):
Congratulations.
It's amazing, it's a remarkablestory.
I mean certainly from you knowyou're growing up in Italy and
then having the opportunity towork in the Middle East and then
coming back to Italy, and Iknow you've lived in several
places within Italy, but clearlynow Tuscany is home and has
been for a number of years, andyou live really in the heart of
it.
You know, between Florence andPisa, this extraordinary
property.
So tell us a little bit aboutCastle Falfi and that renovation
(06:28):
, because I didn't get into thatin the introduction and I'm
sure our listeners will be keento know as they're looking at
the website how did thisincredible property come to be
and now, of course, getrecognized as a Forbes Travel
Guide five-star property.
But yeah, tell us a little bitabout Castle Falfi and that
renovation.
Speaker 1 (06:43):
Yeah, actually Castle Falfi has been.
It's a piece of Tuscany,literally, because it's in a
state of 1,100 hectares, in theheart of Tuscany, between
Florence, pisa and Siena, as yousaid, close to San Gimignano,
and has been for many, manycenturies a strategic place
between the two cities, florenceand Pisa, and has been for
(07:08):
centuries a farm, actually, witha castle, a proper castle, with
a medieval borgo, a huge estatethat more than 20 years ago,
became organic, full organic,and in the last years it has
been part of a huge renovationand owned by the previous owner,
(07:29):
which used to be TUI, theGerman tour operator.
That has been the vision ofthis property to become a luxury
property.
Then, three years ago, theactual owner, which is Mr Loya,
(07:56):
decided to fall in love withthis beautiful piece of land and
decided to buy the entireestate, which are more than 150
rooms and suites, plus the villa, the spa, which is brand new,
the restaurants and the entirehotel, which, at the moment, we
completed.
And we just last year we justgot, as you said, the five stars
(08:19):
for Forbes, which has been agreat recognition for our team.
Honestly, because I'm veryproud of them, and getting the
five stars at the first year ofapplication.
It's quite unique, honestly.
After that, we are going tocomplete the last piece of
(08:40):
Castafaf, which is the new event, space Colaria, that will be
ready at the beginning of theseason and will be a great
addition for our events inCastelfalfi.
Speaker 2 (08:53):
That's great.
Congratulations again on theFord Travel Guide five-star
rating.
That's obviously a hugeaccomplishment, as you well know
, and certainly the theme forthis series is leaders behind
the stars, and you're certainlyone of them, and your team is as
well, because, as youhighlighted, this is actually in
a year you've been able toachieve this status and it's
very difficult to attain.
(09:13):
It's very difficult to tomaintain that.
So I just wanted to start offon that note, because what does
it mean to you and the team tohave achieved this status?
Tell us a little bit about theprocess to get that recognition
and then ultimately now whatthat means for yourself, the
team and the property.
Speaker 1 (09:32):
It has been a long journey, honestly, over the last
two years because, as you canimagine, moving from a property
that used to sell 250 euros asan average rate to over 1,000
that we are at the moment.
That means not only renovate theentire property in terms of the
(09:55):
assets but, most importantly,elevate the service accordingly,
and this has been the journeythat we did in the last two
years, in the last two seasons,with our team.
We increased the number ofpeople, train and retrain a lot
to the team in order to make theall the standards for us normal
(10:20):
and working on the role playsin order to really elevate the
service at the standard weapplied last year for Forbes,
honestly getting to see what westill have to do, but luckily
(10:41):
our service level that, I haveto be honest, in the last season
has been a great recognitionfrom our guests in terms of
guest satisfaction.
We knew that it was already agood point, but I we always want
to raise the bar and so we'reexpecting something to do even
(11:02):
better, but still we got thefive stars.
In December, when I got thecall from Forbes still under the
handbag, I was very, very happyfor my team because, as you can
imagine, after three years ofhard work, training, retraining
session meetings to try to dothe things well, getting this
(11:28):
recognition has been a greatachievement, especially for my
team, honestly.
Speaker 2 (11:33):
Yeah, no, that's amazing and I'm thrilled for you
, and I just wanted tounderstand a bit more about what
that actually means now thatyou've achieved this status, and
certainly from what I've cometo understand a bit more about
what that actually means nowthat you've achieved this status
, and certainly from what I'vecome to understand, roberto,
achieving those service levelsjust in and of themselves is a
reason for guests to come backand visit again and again, but
clearly, once you've achievedthat status, there is
(11:55):
recognition that will likelylead to more customers
discovering Castle Felfi.
So tell us about some of theinitial benefits maybe you've
seen from achieving thefive-star status and what are
some of the things you'reexpecting to see over the next
year as a result of achievingthat, and then, obviously, the
full intention to maintain thatfor many years to come.
Speaker 1 (12:14):
I can tell you that in the last two weeks, since the
list has been launched in themiddle of February, we saw
already some increase ofreservation because the people
have seen Castelfarfi in many,many articles and posts on
(12:35):
Instagram, on different socialmedia.
So we saw that there is moreattention to Castelfaffi because
, of course, the fact that weare the only new Italian
five-star property put us in aspecial stage in terms of
visibility, and we arebenefiting of this in terms of
(12:56):
sales.
What does it mean for us in thenext season and for the next
years?
It's just to be even better interms of service, because now
the expectations are, of course,higher from our guests, because
they will see the five stars onour entrance and they will
(13:18):
expect this kind of service, andwe have to reconfirm what we
already did of good in the lastseason.
But, most importantly, we don'twant to stop here.
We want to retain the fivestars for the next years, of
course, and continue to be oneof the best hotels in Italy and
(13:40):
Europe that we have been in thelast year.
Speaker 2 (13:42):
Yeah, most definitely .
I'm sure that will continue,and one of the other things that
I'm also keen to understand isthat this is your opportunity as
well to attend the summit inMonaco, where we are together.
And just remind me, roberto, isthis your first Forbes Travel
Guide to Summit event?
Speaker 1 (13:59):
Yes, it's my first time in Forbes Summit and Monaco
.
It's a beautiful location forthat.
I've never been in the previousproperty in the previous events
.
But to say that this location,in this event, it's looking very
, very interesting, even for thepanels.
Speaker 2 (14:17):
Yeah, no, I totally agree.
I mean it's a perfect place forit, certainly for the height of
luxury hospitality.
Thankfully for you, you don'thave to travel too far, but
there's a big difference betweentuscany and monaco and there's
so many beautiful places withineurope.
But you now get to have thechance to be here for a few days
and rub shoulders with theother top gms from around the
world and many people within theforbes travel guide network.
(14:38):
So I keen, given it is yourfirst time here at the summit it
was my first year, last year inLas Vegas and this year for me
it's a larger conference, it'smuch more international.
I mean, last year was fantastic, but this is really next level
I'm keen to get your firstimpressions of being at the
Forbes Travel Guide Summit.
What are some of the benefitsyou've realized so far from
(14:59):
being here over the last coupleof days?
Speaker 1 (15:02):
One of the most interesting things is having in
one place most of the bestatelier in the world, which is
very interesting even to sharesome opinions about the service,
about our industry, which is,in my opinion, the best industry
to work with, and also to learnsome news, some new approach
(15:27):
about AI, about the service,about the people that are doing
our industry so interesting.
So it's a great, I think,inspiring for us as Atelier to
be here.
Speaker 2 (15:40):
Yeah, no for sure.
I mean.
Obviously, you highlighted thenetworking and then the learning
opportunities.
I've been able to attend a fewof the sessions as well.
There's been some fantasticspeakers and some really
interesting breakouts, one ofthem on luxury travel trends
that I found really interesting.
And for you, when it comes toactually making these
connections, you've been in theindustry, as you mentioned, for
20 years.
When it comes to actuallymaking these connections, you've
been in the industry, as youmentioned, for 20 years.
(16:01):
Do you have quite a fewindustry colleagues here that
you already know, or is thisreally kind of a new audience
and network for you, becauseclearly a lot of people that are
here have been coming back,been a part of the network for
many years?
Although Forbes Travel Guide isexpanding globally and the fact
that it's in Europe andinternational for the first time
, they're certainly drawing awider audience globally, and the
fact that it's in Europe andinternational for the first time
(16:22):
, this is certainly drawing awider audience.
But, yeah, when you look aroundhere at the sessions, how many
people are known to you and howmany people are new?
Speaker 1 (16:27):
Actually, let's say half and half, because there are
many, many friends that I knowsince I started to work and are
now friends or GMs or otherleaders in the industry that I
used to know the last 20 years,and some others are new and are
(16:50):
very interesting to know.
I know people in Europe, ofcourse, in the US and the other
parts, so this is a goodopportunity for me to expand my
networking in other parts of theworld that I didn't work with.
So it's a good mix between oldfriends and new friends.
Speaker 2 (17:12):
Yeah, absolutely.
You're in great company here,that's for sure.
Speaker 1 (17:16):
Yesterday we spent time together and knowing each
other has been a greatexperience, a great example of
what forbes summit could be yeahfor sure.
Speaker 2 (17:25):
It was actually really interesting because
roberto and I were supposed torecord yesterday afternoon and
there was a few complicationswith the timing because I was
back to back and he was runninga bit behind, and then we ended
up having to reschedule fortoday and we literally uh,
bumped into each other lastnight getting a drink, and I was
talking to jeanette and were aswell, and then we all of a
sudden had the realization whenyou looked and were like wait a
(17:47):
second, you're Dan from TravelTrends.
I'm like, you're Roberto.
I was supposed to, and it was areally nice moment and we had,
as you know, we spent a couplehours hanging out together, we
got pictures at the top of thebalcony, I got pictures for you,
for your family, and you kindlytook some for me as well, and
certainly I instantly felt acamaraderie with you and I think
it's a big component of beinghere, like the relationships you
(18:08):
develop, and then, clearly, theopportunity to work with other
properties and know other GMsand to get to know the travel
agencies.
That's another area that ForbesTravel Guide has expanded to.
There's actually a whole groupof travel agents that are here
that are now Forbes Travel Guiderated and clearly they're
looking to network with GMs likeyourself to bring their guests
(18:30):
to your property.
So I appreciate you mentioningthat, because it certainly has
been my feeling I mean last year, but even more so this year.
It's just such a dynamiccommunity that exists around
Forbes Travel Guide.
So, yeah, tell us about someother opportune meetings that
you might have had or otherpeople that you've connected
with that are new.
That might lead to newopportunities for your business.
Speaker 1 (18:53):
I was mentioning the supplier side because he has
some good supplier, some of themI used to know by name, some
others are brand new for me andall of them they are giving me
some opportunities to thinkabout or rethink about my
business in order to elevate theservice or just introduce new
(19:16):
features to my hotels.
Introduction new feature to myhotels or, in some cases, change
the existing supply withsomething which are better in
terms of quality or in terms ofcost, sometimes because the
costs are important as well forour industry.
So I think another part ofForbes Summit is the opportunity
(19:42):
to get in contact with peoplethat are in our industry but
maybe are working in differentcontinental nations or countries
so are not directly connectedto you daily by day, so are not
direct connect to you daily byday.
So even in this case, ouropportunity of business, like
(20:10):
with the travel agency that youmentioned or with our colleagues
, because sometimes even thecolleagues could be an important
opportunity to increase thenetworking for maybe opportunity
in the future to collaborate inCastafafi.
Speaker 2 (20:40):
Who knows will feature at the end, with
companies like Mindstream andthe wellness side that are
focused on music and wellness.
And there's some reallyfascinating partners suppliers,
vendors however you want torefer to them, but within the
Forbes Travel Guide network thatclearly are looking to connect
with someone like yourself tomake recommendations for their
linens, their card designs, likeMark Friedland, of course,
(21:04):
which I've met him last year andsaw him again earlier today,
who is very keen to be on thepodcast as well because they
make the cards for the AcademyAwards.
And you know, as you know, as ahotel GM, one of the special
things that you do is make ahandwritten note for a guest as
they come in, and that issomething that is tactile and it
is really meaningful in such adigital age that we're in today.
(21:25):
But let's go back to CastleFalfi.
I mean, after you leave here inMonaco, you're going back to
this extraordinary property andyou were starting to highlight
what's coming next I would lovefor you to be able to share with
our listeners, given that thisseries over the 10 episodes is
launching kind of spring summerand many people are probably
still making summer plans.
(21:46):
I know we are as a family anditaly's definitely on our list.
Um, not that we're coming tocastle felfi I'm definitely not
advocating for that, roberto butI'd love to, uh, for you to be
able to share you know what aresome of the best times of the
year to visit tuscany and whatare some of the developments you
have planned for castle felfiover the course of 2025 and into
the future.
Speaker 1 (22:06):
Yes, the season is waiting for me and the opening,
with a lot of business that, we,thanks God, we have on the
books and is waiting for us forthe opening.
We just are completing therenovation, the last part of the
hotel that we renovated onerestaurant this winter.
(22:29):
We are just going to open a newevent space that I mentioned
earlier, which is Haria diCastelfalfi, which is a huge, is
the biggest event space forMICE events, for social events,
for corporate events.
It's up to 400 people that weare literally built in a part of
(22:55):
Castelfalfi and we'll be readyfor the opening and we'll be a
great addition for Castelfalfi,especially for social and
corporate events.
And then, on top of that, wejust opened, at the end of
November last year, the newsuite in the castle, completely
designed by Stefano Ricci, whichis a Florentine designer.
(23:20):
He designed this new hugepenthouse suite, two-bedroom
suite that we have in our castle, which is really a unique
experience that we can provideto our clients, with butler
service included.
And on top of that, there aremany, many other activities that
(23:40):
we planned in the last winterfor our clients that they can
have in our estate, from cookingclass to pizza class, from
truffle hunting to the new spatreatments that we have designed
.
Going back to, when is the besttime to come to Castelfarfi?
(24:04):
I think that from the end ofApril till, let's say, mid of
October, the season is reallyperfect because it's not very
hot, it's close to Florence butit's much cooler than Florence.
So you can really enjoy thestay with us over the summer,
when probably in the city it'shottest, and come back in the
(24:30):
evening to enjoy the resort lifein Caselfalfi with our spa,
with our pools, with our tenniscourt, paddle court and all our
activities that are ready forour clients.
Speaker 2 (24:44):
So it's really a perfect time to come and visit
and one of the things that wasrunning through my mind as I was
preparing for our conversation,looking at the website, is how
long someone should stay, giventhere's so much to do.
I think you could spend a monththere, but like what?
What do you typically recommend?
Is it a week?
I mean, are some people comingfor a long weekend?
What is the uh, the typicalduration of a stay and what
(25:04):
would you recommend?
Speaker 1 (25:07):
yeah, because it's there are so many opportunities
to do in the fashion that eventhe clients they stay with us
one week at the end they said Ididn't do that.
I didn't do that, I have tocome back because I have to do
this.
So that, because there are alot of things, I think honestly
that four or five days it's theright time to come, and for the
(25:28):
stay, because you have the timeto enjoy the resource life, like
the spa, the golf, the sportsor the food activities, and also
visiting Tuscany, if it's thefirst time that you are in
Tuscany, because there are manyspots around us that are really
close by and achievable withinone hour or even less sometimes,
(25:50):
like San Gimignano, volterra,monteriggioni, siena, pisa,
florence and so many others.
The seaside, with Fontenot Army, which is just one hour.
So there are many things to do.
And five days, I think it's agood time to spend with Castle
Farfing and maybe come back nextyear.
Speaker 2 (26:10):
Who knows Exactly?
Yeah, definitely.
So, speaking of that and travelplans, I know you have a young
daughter, so you've achievedthis very important recognition
and renovated this hotel, butobviously everyone needs a break
, and especially when you've gota young family.
Clearly, you live in one of themost beautiful places in the
world, so it's probably you knowyou don't have to tear yourself
(26:33):
away from it, but I'm sure itis inspirational to go and visit
other extraordinary propertiesand have the opportunity to see
other places and what.
So I was genuinely curious,roberto what's on your list for
2025?
What else do you want to go andvisit?
What stands out to you in termsof regions?
What do you have planned withyour family?
If you don't mind me asking,it's a pleasure.
Speaker 1 (26:54):
I love to travel with my family and spend time with
them, with my daughters and mywife, our dog Bianca, dog Bianca
.
So I'll say that we generallytravel.
Since we have Bianca, wegenerally travel in Italy for
using my car, and my nextprobably my next trip will be
(27:15):
Naples, which is a city that Ilove.
I'm from the south of Italy andI love the south of Italy, the
Sicily, the Amalfi Coast, naplesas a city, the Puglia near the
side, so the next one will be inNaples and probably the summer
I will spend in Puglia, on thisside, which I love.
(27:38):
The fish, and probably that isone of the best fish in Italy.
Speaker 2 (27:43):
Yeah, no, naples.
I mean I knew that you werefrom that region of Italy from
our conversation last night andI think I'd mentioned to you
that the Amalfi Coast we'venever been and that's really
high up on my list and to tryand figure out when is best to
go.
And when I was doing someresearch on flights, I actually
realized that there's directflights from Nice to Naples.
So I've been thinking aboutmaybe we could do the south of
(28:03):
France and southern Italy thissummer as our family trip.
But that's the one thing that'samazing about Europe is how
close everything is, becausemost of our listeners are in the
US, so when they're thinkingabout traveling to Europe and
certainly one of the bigtakeaways for me being here in
Europe again is just howextraordinary Europe is.
I mean, it's just there's somuch to offer with the culture
(28:26):
and the cuisine and and clearly,if no one's been to Tuscany
before, castle Falfi is the way.
If you've been to Italy before,it just sounds like Castle
Falfi is one of the bestintroductions you could have to
to this beautiful country.
But I appreciate you sharingwhere you're headed to next.
I just had a couple lastquestions for you and one of
them I'm always keen to get froman executive like yourself
(28:48):
who's achieved such success, isfor those people out there
listening to this that areworking their way up in the
industry, especially inhospitality.
I mean, certainly one of thebiggest themes of our Travel
Trends podcast when we startedthe show was trying to share
what recommendations executiveswould have for people that are
coming up.
Advice, and clearly you sayyou've accomplished a lot.
(29:08):
So I'd love to hear for thoselisteners out there that are
looking at you, roberto, andmany of the people that are
going to like this on Instagramor on LinkedIn and I can see
it's a lot of the people thatwork across the properties and
so they're clearly trying tostay connected and to learn what
they should do to rise up intheir careers.
So what advice would you havefor them?
Speaker 1 (29:30):
then generally say to my team in in our trainings,
especially at the beginning,onboarding is to look themselves
and see if there is the passionfor taking care of the people,
because at the end, hospitalityis really caring about the
others.
When you either welcome someonein the restaurant or taking care
(29:53):
of his room or welcoming on thelobby at the arrival, it's just
caring about them.
So if you strive to do that foryour friends, your family, your
, even the people that you don'tknow, probably you have the
something inside that is goodfor the hospitality, because all
(30:16):
the standards I can teach tothe, to my team, but the, the
passion to taking care of theothers, is something that either
you have within you or you willnot.
I cannot teach to anyone else.
So if you think that you havethis and you stay well when the
others are well, you are a goodperson for the hospitality and
(30:39):
this industry is right for you.
Then all the standards and allthe tricks we can teach you and
we are happy to teach you, butthe passion is something that
you have to find yourself.
Speaker 2 (30:55):
That's great advice, roberto, and I'm sure many
people will be looking toconnect with you after this and
certainly learn more aboutCastle Felf.
We've mentioned the website, ofcourse, but where would you
point them to either get intouch with you or to learn more
about the property, becausethere's going to be travel
advisors listening to this,hospitality executives and also
travelers that are justgenuinely interested.
(31:16):
So, given that diverse audience, where would you recommend or
point them towards, roberto?
Speaker 1 (31:22):
Well, of course, our website it's the first point of
contact but also our socialmedia accounts on Instagram, on
Facebook and my personal accountas well.
I'm on Instagram as RobertoProtezione, or you can even
email me on robertoprotezione atcassefalficom for for any
(31:45):
getting contact for us, for anyrequests that you want to
discuss with me or share with me.
I am more than happy to get newfriends to our contacts.
Speaker 2 (31:56):
Fantastic.
I appreciate you sharing youremail address.
I'm sure you're going to hearfrom a few travel advisors we
had last year in Las Vegas.
As some of our listeners know,in season one we had this
amazing entrepreneurial femaleexecutive, ellie, who created
Ellie Wagner.
She created Wagner BespokeTravel and she was a former
lawyer and she's got aremarkable story.
(32:17):
She's got young kids and she'sbuilt a very successful travel
agency business, and how she didthat was connecting with hotel
GMs like yourself and then beingable to make the personal
connection when her guests werecoming to stay there, because
she has a very high net worthclientele, and so I appreciate
you extending that and I lookforward to keeping in touch.
Speaker 1 (32:35):
Thank you, dan, and thank you everyone to listen to
us and we're in Tuscany, sowhenever you want, we're here.
Speaker 2 (32:42):
Thanks so much for joining us on our latest episode
of Travel Trends and ourspecial hospitality series in
partnership with our friends atForbes Travel Guide.
As you've heard, in this seriesin season two has all been about
the leaders behind the stars,and certainly Roberto
Protizzioni, the GM of CastleFalfi in the heart of Tuscany,
is a terrific example of that Abeautiful property, an
(33:04):
exceptional leader and clearly agreat team.
So congratulations to all ofyou again on that recognition
and status and certainly wishingyou all the best for the year
ahead.
Now, next week, we're going tocontinue our focus on hotel gms
and we're going to theseychelles, and all of these
conversations were recorded live, of course, at the summit in
monaco, the forbes travel guideannual, but we are going to be
(33:27):
profiling an extraordinaryproperty in the Seychelles next
week.
So make sure you are subscribedon the streaming platform of
your choice Apple or Spotify.
And then, don't forget, we postclips and highlights on our
social channels, both at TravelTrends Podcast as well as at
Forbes Travel Guide, onInstagram, linkedin and YouTube.
So be sure to check out clipsand highlights there.
(33:49):
And until next week, safetravels.
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