La Pergola

Da Vittorio Brusaporto

Beefbar Milano

Food and Beverage is a defining component of the resort’s positioning, rooted in Puglian culinary traditions and expressed across a range of dining formats, from informal all-day options to the Michelin-starred Due Camini led by Chef Domingo Schingaro. The concept is consistently anchored in local sourcing, seasonality and territorial identity, positioning gastronomy as a direct extension of the resort’s broader narrative. This approach is also reflected in the resort’s economic performance. Based on the latest available financial reporting for 2024, the property generated more than €17 million in Food and Beverage revenue, representing 23% of total revenue, with total property revenue reaching €74 million. 

Forte Village Resort, Sardinia

Set on 50 hectares along Sardinia’s southern coast, Forte Village is an integrated luxury resort owned and operated by Progetto Esmeralda S.r.l. The property comprises eight four- and five-star hotels and has been named World’s Leading Resort at the World Travel Awards for 28 consecutive years, reflecting the breadth of its accommodation, dining, sports, wellness and family facilities.

According to its published financial statements, the resort generated total revenues of approximately €97 million in 2024, of which €20 million, or 20% of total revenue, was attributable to food and beverage. In a recent interview with Il Sole 24 Ore, resident manager Magno Cristiani indicated that 2025 closed with €93 million in revenues and an operating profit of €38 million, slightly below the record 2024 performance.

The property operates 27 restaurants and bars; an increase of 6 venues compared to the previous year. The offer spans fine dining by Heinz Beck and Carlo Cracco, with Michelin-starred chef Andrea Berton returning this year, alongside Sardinian and Italian venues, international cuisines, beachfront dining and family-oriented outlets. As the resort operates primarily on a half-board basis, the published F&B figure likely reflects internal package allocation rather than standalone dining demand. The value of food and beverage in this case is the wide variety of concepts, covering fine dining, local cuisine and casual venues, which give guests enough reason to stay on property for days without repeating an experience, and it creates a complete holiday destination.

Looking ahead, Forte Village has committed approximately €40 million in capital investment through 2030 for the development of three new exclusive villas, alongside a planned reduction in room inventory to enhance exclusivity and privacy for high-spending international travellers.
Collectively, the case studies demonstrate the varying roles F&B can play depending on the nature of the asset, ranging from a reputational anchor within a hotel, to a scalable standalone platform, to a primary driver of accommodation demand, or an integrated component of broader lifestyle and destination-led ecosystems. The table below summarises the key financial metrics across the case studies analysed.

The Rise of Partnerships and Outsourcing

The professionalisation and branding of restaurants in hotels has been accompanied by a parallel shift in how these operations are structured. Luxury hotels are increasingly partnering with established restaurant brands, chefs and specialist operators to strengthen their F&B offering, access new demand pools and acquire external know-how.

This evolution is driven by both strategic positioning and operational considerations. From a strategic perspective, internationally recognised brands bring credibility, reduce commercial risk through their proven track record and performance, and provide access to an established client base that actively follows these concepts across destinations.

From an operational standpoint, growing complexity in luxury hospitality operations, combined with seasonality and rising service expectations, is making it increasingly difficult for hotel groups to rely solely on in-house teams in order to deliver a high-end guest experience. In this context, partnerships also provide access to more structured training systems and established talent pools, helping to mitigate recruitment and retention constraints.

As a result, the contractual landscape has become more diverse, ranging from lease structures and management agreements to revenue-share models and joint ventures, each reflecting a different allocation of control, risk and return.

Operational Challenges

Nevertheless, the growing reliance on more complex operating models has not removed the underlying structural pressures facing the sector.

The first constraint remains labour. Shortages of qualified staff and high turnover continue to weigh on operations, particularly as younger generations are often less attracted to an industry characterised by long and demanding working hours. According to Confcommercio, Italy’s tertiary sector could face a shortfall of up to 275,000 workers in 2026, rising to 470,000 by 2035, with more than 200,000 positions already unfilled today across services and tourism. This challenge is particularly acute in the luxury restaurant segment, where consistency of service is central to the guest experience.

Alongside labour, cost pressures remain persistent. Food prices in Italy increased by 30% between 2019 and July 2025, according to ISTAT, with most of the rise concentrated in the post-pandemic period. While inflation has moderated more recently, the ongoing conflict in the Middle East adds further uncertainty, with potential disruptions to energy and agricultural supply chains putting pressure on key inputs such as fuel and fertilisers, with direct implications for the operating costs of food production and distribution.

Key Geographic Markets

Italy’s branded dining activity is most visible across a limited number of urban and leisure destinations where international demand, luxury hospitality supply and global visibility intersect.

Milan

Milan occupies a structurally distinct position within Italy's luxury hospitality landscape, driven by a convergence of culture, events, fashion, finance, design, leisure and business demand. In recent years, several global catalysts have significantly amplified the city's international profile. The Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics are a recent example, with preliminary data from Confcommercio reporting an almost 8% increase in visitors from January to April compared to the same period last year.

Alongside event-driven demand, the city is benefiting from a growing high-net-worth resident base supported by Italy's flat-tax regime. According to the World's Wealthiest Cities Report by Henley & Partners and New World Wealth, Milan's resident millionaire population grew by 24% between 2014 and 2024, the fifth-strongest growth among European Union cities, creating a demand layer with preferences increasingly aligned with global gateway cities, including internationally branded dining concepts, private members' clubs and curated lifestyle venues.

This evolving demand base is reshaping Milan’s F&B landscape. International dining concepts and members’ clubs traditionally associated with London, New York, or Dubai are increasingly entering the market, positioning Milan more firmly within the global luxury circuit. Openings such as The Wilde, Nusr-Et at Casa Brera, Sushisamba at Torre Velasca, and the forthcoming Zuma at The Luxury Collection Milan and Soho House Milan reflect this transition towards a more internationally driven hospitality offering.

Rome

According to Luxury Travel Intelligence, Rome ranked second in the world for new openings of ultra-luxury hotels in 2024, ahead of New York, Sydney, Singapore and Tokyo. Further evidence of this momentum comes from operating performance, with average room occupancy in five-star hotels reaching 77.4% in 2024.

Since 2023, the city has seen a series of landmark openings including Bvlgari Hotel, Six Senses, Nobu Hotel and Corinthia. Within the next 24 months, further leading international brands are expected to open including Rosewood, Baccarat, Mandarin Oriental and Four Seasons.

The entry of these international players reflects a shift in the profile of visitors and residents Rome is attracting and is introducing a more professionalised generation of F&B concepts that will raise the competitive bar across the city’s dining market. Zuma at Palazzo Fendi, present in Rome since 2016, was among the first internationally recognised dining brands to establish itself in a market historically dominated by independent Italian operators. The opening of Bvlgari Hotel Roma, with its restaurant by Niko Romito, illustrates how partnerships with world-renowned chefs can elevate the F&B proposition and strengthen the experiential offer within an already highly exclusive luxury portfolio. More recently, at Orient Express La Minerva, Gigi Rigolatto, a rooftop restaurant concept by Rikas Hospitality Group and Paris Society, introduced a social dining format designed to attract external guests through the strength of its location and brand, rather than hotel occupancy alone. Similarly, the newly opened Corinthia Rome appointed internationally acclaimed Italian chef Carlo Cracco as Chef Partner, bringing his culinary vision to the hotel's entire food and beverage programme, including its signature restaurant Viride. 

Leisure Destinations

Italy's leading coastal and alpine destinations have emerged as some of the most active markets for branded Food and Beverage in Europe, driven by a combination of high-spending travellers, a concentration of luxury accommodation and high international visibility.

Costa Smeralda is the most concentrated example. Porto Cervo and its surroundings have attracted a density of leading international operators over the last decade, with Novikov, Nikki Beach, Matsuhisa, Beefbar and Zuma establishing seasonal operations, more recently joined by Nammos, Langosteria and Paper Moon, among others, alongside Italian brands extending their presence to Sardinia. This concentration is unmatched elsewhere in Italy and is complemented by an established base of high-end local venues.

Across other coastal destinations, the dynamic is present but takes different forms. In Capri, Zuma has operated as a seasonal restaurant within Capri Palace Jumeirah since 2023, though the broader high-end dining scene remains predominantly locally owned. In Taormina, fashion houses have claimed some of the destination's most iconic spaces, with Dolce & Gabbana restyling the historic Mocambo Bar under their brand identity and Louis Vuitton opening its first Italian café in 2023. In Forte dei Marmi, the same dynamic has materialised across a broader range of formats. Pasticceria Marchesi, part of the Prada Group, opened the Caffè Principe in the town's historic premises of the same name in 2023, followed by the arrival of Crazy Pizza in the subsequent year. The movement has extended to beach clubs, which are increasingly integrating branded dining experiences, including Nobu at Bagno Alpemare in 2024 and, more recently, Da Giacomo Milano at Bagno Marechiaro in 2026.

Among alpine destinations, Cortina d'Ampezzo stands out as the clearest example of this trend. Over the past few years, the destination has recorded a steady increase in high-profile Food and Beverage openings, closely aligned with the repositioning of its hospitality market. The Alajmo Group first introduced a temporary restaurant at Hotel Ancora in 2020 before establishing a permanent, year-round multi-level fine dining venue and bar. In December 2023, Majestas Group assumed control of the historic El Camineto, while Antica Bottega del Vino expanded its award-winning Verona concept in late 2025. Most recently, Zuma opened at The First by The Pavilions for the winter season of 2026.

Alongside these, a series of luxury hotel developments, both recently completed and in the pipeline, including Hotel Ancora, Grand Hotel Ampezzo by Dhom Collection, Mandarin Oriental, Emblems Collection and Le Graal, combined with the visibility generated by the Milano-Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics, are expected to support the entry of additional international Food and Beverage brands in the coming years.

The trend is accelerating, with nearly every new luxury hotel opening now paired with a prominent branded F&B concept. Recent examples in other leisure destinations include Baccarat Florence with Francis Mallmann, Edition Lake Como with Mauro Colagreco, Belmond Villa San Michele with Alessandro Cozzolino featuring only eight tables, and Les Airelles Palladio Venice, bringing together Nobu Matsuhisa, Jean-Georges Vongerichten, Norbert Niederkofler and Cédric Grolet under one roof. Taken together, these destinations show that branded F&B is no longer limited to a few flagship resorts but is now a recurring feature across Europe's main leisure markets. What links them is not a single operating model, but strong demand and destinations with a clear identity that can support international brands.

Outlook 2026

The trajectory of Italy's luxury hospitality market points towards a deeper integration of accommodation, dining, wellness and lifestyle within single concepts. The boundaries between a hotel, a restaurant, a members' club and a retail experience are becoming harder to define, and the most competitive assets will be those that manage this complexity with intention.

In this evolving landscape, gastronomy is already a defining component. As supply expands and international competition intensifies, the ability to offer something distinctive at the table will become one of the primary ways a property differentiates itself. The gap between a well-positioned asset and a well-performing one will increasingly be determined by the quality of execution and the coherence of the overall experience rather than the strength of the location alone.

The case studies examined in this article illustrate that there is no single model driving this shift. Value creation takes different forms, whether through a chef-led identity extended across multiple formats, a territorially rooted resort built around local culture, or an urban mixed-use asset where restaurants operate as public-facing destinations. What connects them is a clear and consistent proposition that runs through every touchpoint of the guest experience.

At the same time, as international brands and operators continue to enter the market, the question of authenticity becomes increasingly relevant. Italy's appeal to high-spending travellers has always rested on something that goes beyond product quality: a sense of place, cultural depth and culinary heritage that cannot be manufactured. The properties that will define the next chapter of Italian luxury hospitality are those that understand how to balance international standards with local essence, using branded partnerships and chef collaborations to elevate their offer without erasing the identity that makes a destination worth visiting in the first place.
 
Additional Contribution
This article also benefited from contributions by Audrey Gerken, Research Intern at HVS Southern Europe.


¹ Valeriano Antonioli, quoted in "Ferragamo's Formula Behind Portrait Milano's Luxury Hotel Launch," Skift, April 21, 2024, https://skift.com/2024/04/21/ferragamos-formula-behind-portrait-milanos-luxury-hotel-launch/.