Luxury jeweler Bulgari’s hotel division is charting a measured expansion course that stands in stark contrast to its competitors’ aggressive growth strategies. It’s betting that scarcity and quality control will preserve its ultra-luxury positioning.
“We’re never going to have a big hotel collection,” said Senior Director Attilio Marro in an interview at ILTM Cannes. “We will have a few, very meaningful properties.”
Bulgari Hotels & Resorts has only 9 open hotels. It has three more in the works — Bulgari Maldives Ranfushi (expected to open in 2026), Bulgari Bodrum (2026), and Bulgari Miami Beach (2027) — but is content with a tiny footprint.
While competitors race to plant their flags in every gleaming metropolis and pristine beach (Aman has 34, Rosewood has 38, and Four Seasons has over 120), Bulgari Hotels & Resorts is being more selective.
The ultra-luxury hospitality brand is “actively” seeking prime locations in New York and Los Angeles, which Marro describes as “top priority” markets. When it finally opens after serial delays, Bulgari Miami Beach will be the brand’s first U.S. hotel.
The brand also plans to explore opportunities in select capital cities worldwide and “a couple of rather extraordinary resorts” in beautiful destinations.
The company’s approach to property development emphasizes renovation over new construction. Location requirements include proximity to luxury shopping districts within about a 10-minute walk.
“I think we’ve been extremely disciplined in selecting our locations,” Marro said. “When you have the right location, and you create an amazing product, you can hardly go wrong because you will always have a niche of customers that are going to be good for you, and you’re going to be good for them.”
Bulgari approached hospitality by translating its core jewelry brand values — including craftsmanship, rare materials, and Italian design heritage into the hotel experience.
“We’ve never treated this like a licensing or merchandising exercise,” Marro explained.
For LVMH, which acquired Bulgari in 2011, the strategy appears to be paying off, though specific financial details remain private. The Bulgari Hotel Roma, which opened in 2023, was voted the best hotel in the world at this year’s Virtuoso conference for luxury traveler counselors.
Bulgari Hotels maintains an asset-light model through a partnership with Marriott International, which manages the properties, while Bulgari maintains strict control over branding and design elements. Notably, the properties operate outside Marriott’s Bonvoy loyalty program, a deliberate choice to maintain exclusivity.
“We don’t do loyalty points,” said Marro. (Bulgari’s hotel collection started as a joint venture with Ritz-Carlton, which Marriott obtained when it acquired Ritz-Carlton.)
Bulgari reports 50% to 60% repeat guest rates at its Milan and London locations. Rather than chasing occupancy rates through seasonal pricing adjustments, the brand maintains consistently high rates year-round, even if it occasionally operates at 20% occupancy during low seasons.
A Focus on Detail
Design remains a critical differentiator, with all properties conceived by architects Antonio Citterio and Patricia Viel (ACPV). Each property attempts to thread the needle between Italian glamour and local aesthetics.
A documentary that debuted this year on Amazon Prime, “The Emperor’s Jewel,” showcases the brand’s commitment to Italian craftsmanship in its Rome property, featuring centuries-old Italian companies specializing in lighting, fabrics, marble, and mosaics.
Marro said Bulgari adapts to evolving luxury consumer preferences. Newer properties feature expanded amenities, including 25-meter pools (instead of 10-meter versions in its first hotels), expanded fitness centers, and a higher proportion of suites. “We understand today much better the demand for the very, very top tier of customers,” Marro noted.
“The biggest challenge is to create hotels that continue to get better and better with time,” Marro said. “Very often in the industry, you see hotels that open up at a very high level, and they slowly go down.”
Marro emphasized that sustainable success in ultra-luxury hospitality requires constant vigilance, and he credited the continued leadership of Silvio Ursini, the group executive vice president of the hotels and resorts division, over a couple of decades for ensuring consistency.
“To create that upward spiral of success is extremely complicated and requires daily focus and full commitment.”
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