Having spent greater than 22 years inside the luxurious hospitality sphere, Sabrina Piccinin possesses a exceptional potential to evaluate the wants and needs of the world’s most prosperous and skilled vacationers. And along with her creation of Haute Retreats in 2016, Piccinin greater than meets these wants and needs by providing a few of the most luxurious and indulgent trip alternatives on the planet.
As founder and CEO of Haute Retreats, Piccinin’s mission will not be solely to offer the most effective in lodging the world over but in addition to offer the most effective in service. She believes that whereas the vacation spot itself ought to be fabulous, the facilities and private consideration to element are of equal significance.
Born and raised in Italy, Piccinin launched into a profession as an airplane pilot previous to becoming a member of the hospitality trade the place for a number of years she served as normal supervisor for a variety of high-end lodge manufacturers. She then hung out in Costa Rica as a villa supervisor earlier than establishing Haute Retreats the place her dedication to excellence is confirmed inside each consumer evaluation. Upscale Dwelling Journal lately caught up with the profitable entrepreneur to study extra about Haute Retreats and why the enterprise mannequin has confirmed so profitable:
What was the motivation so that you can set up Haute Retreats? Did you sense a void within the hospitality trade as an example?
I created Haute Retreats as a result of I wish to have a choice of the most effective luxurious villa leases in a single place, with one aim: to ship excellent providers and create memorable luxurious experiences! Haute Retreats is deeply dedicated to creating a distinction. A dedication to service is essential to its tradition. I made a decision to not listing our villas and providers by way of different OTA web sites…you’ll most likely discover the identical villa on 10 different web sites however you received’t discover our service and that’s what makes us stand out from the remainder.
In what number of nations does Haute Retreats function? What number of whole properties are inside the Haute Retreats portfolio?
We function in 83 locations. We have now 1500 properties on-line and 1300 properties offline that will likely be added quickly. We choose the villas by way of a guidelines I used after I was normal supervisor for luxurious motels and tailored to villa leases. I managed over 15 prime properties in Costa Rica in 2010 for 4 years.
How does a villa develop into a part of your roster? What’s your vetting course of?
One of the widespread questions we get is what precisely makes a location an Haute Retreat? The reply isn’t so simple as one would possibly suppose. We clearly search for high quality amenities to make sure that our prospects have a superb keep. We do greater than that although. We’re very strict about what makes the listing of Haute Retreats. Earlier than being accepted onto the Haute Retreats listing, our consultants take the time to totally confirm every itemizing. This helps to ensure we get our itemizing proper. Quite a bit goes into selecting an Haute Retreat and we offers you some perception into the choice course of.
Look
Quite a bit goes into making a villa appear to be a buyer would anticipate. Any villa that doesn’t meet a excessive commonplace of look is dominated out of the Haute Retreats listing. The placement will need to have a character of its personal and impress with its distinctive nature. Failure to do that can have adverse penalties on a villa. Structure and design imply lots too. A villa should stand out from others within the space.
Service
Nobody hates going to a villa, or perhaps a lodge, solely to pay cash for subpar service. As a way to be thought of to be an Haute Retreat, a location should meet our service requirements. They put the shopper first, they anticipate wants, and the workers is skilled to be skilled. Personalised service will even make a villa extra prone to seem on the Haute Retreats listing.
Buyer Enter
One of the vital facets of an Haute Retreat is buyer enter. If prospects don’t get pleasure from their time, it can cut back the rating of a location. Then again, although, a location that’s favored by prospects is prone to succeed on our web site. Prospects are the explanation that we run our web site within the first place. We encourage open and sincere suggestions from all of our visitors.
Location
The outdated saying, location, location, location truly means one thing. You may’t make a premium villa in case you don’t have a superb location. Give it some thought; would you relatively keep at a beachside villa or one that could be a few blocks away from the seaside? Most individuals would decide the prime location on the seaside. However location additionally means a spot that’s quiet and away from distractions. A great view will usually issue into making a location an Haute Retreat.
Facilities
A part of the explanation you pay a lot when staying away from dwelling isn’t simply the placement. It’s the facilities. You anticipate to have sure advantages accessible wherever you go. To make the standing of being an Haute Retreat, a location wants to offer facilities to match or exceed trade requirements for a 5-star lodge, from high quality eating to the most effective beds, to concierge.
Simply because a villa meets the requirements listed above, doesn’t imply it can develop into an Haute Retreat. We additionally communicate with villa managers and make sure that the whole lot is correct with the Villa. For instance, we wish to guarantee that upkeep hasn’t lapsed. Our vetting course of is what makes our title price one thing, and we work exhausting to consistently uphold and enhance the belief that individuals put within the Haute Retreats title.
Are you, or members of your workers, personally conversant in every Haute Retreats property?
Sure; we work and collaborate immediately with the one that manages and he/she is situated within the vacation spot. We received’t ship a service or lease a villa in any other case.
What number of workers do you’ve gotten and the place are they situated across the globe?
We’re proper now seven between Italy and the USA plus the businesses we employed for the location upkeep operations.
What is obtainable of an Haute Retreats keep that can not be discovered at a lodge or resort?
An Haute Retreats presents the privateness of your individual house in a particular location with all of the facilities of a luxurious resort-like for instance Ani Personal Sri Lanka with the workers devoted simply to the visitors that lease it the villa house.
However you do additionally supply villas which might be situated inside resorts. How are these properties vetted and chosen?
Sure, we do supply villas inside resorts. Our newest additions have been One & Solely Portonovi, a brand new resort with beautiful non-public properties. We choose the villas inside a resort bearing in mind the amenities which might be going to be devoted solely to the visitors. A personal pool, a non-public absolutely outfitted kitchen, for instance, and devoted workers.
What’s certainly one of your favourite Haute Retreats properties, and why?
That could be a powerful query… There are such a lot of properties I can listing, however I can make sure that greater than the properties themselves, I imagine it’s the folks that create the entire expertise for our visitors. I can title Casa Tau in Punta Mita,…or our staff in Miami is completely the most effective particularly with regards to last-minute bookings.
What’s the profile of an Haute Retreats consumer? What are their expectations and needs?
Our visitors look to get pleasure from their trip and to expertise the villa with their households or buddies. They care very a lot about their meals expertise; proper now with Covid protocols, they’re very attentive to service and if there may be somebody accessible on a regular basis for them for last-minute modifications or requests. They’re excessive profile purchasers from completely different components of the world, the Center East…The USA and so forth. We’re very completely satisfied to say we’ve American visitors who select our providers for his or her holidays within the USA.
You’ll be able to assess a consumer’s trip needs, after which suggest the proper villa to fulfill these needs. How do you and your workers make that evaluation and thus information your consumer to their good trip?
We schedule a cellphone or video name until the consumer has already chosen a villa, and we go over their needs, such because the view from the bedrooms, if close to or not a metropolis or a seaside. We notice the pursuits of all members so we all know which vacation spot we are able to counsel. Proper now we additionally consider the restrictions and necessities relying on the place they are going to depart so to keep away from quarantine or different Covid associated necessities. After that, we’ll ship an inventory of properties and we go from there.
What are a few of the particular facilities that you simply and your workers are capable of prepare?
Haute Retreats can host and create a beautiful trip for our visitors. We create chef-hosted dinner on the seaside, a non-public tour at night time of the St Marco Cathedral in Venice, a non-public tour of the Uffizi, arrange high-speed web within the distant areas in a citadel within the countryside in Italy for a enterprise retreat. We will do something for our visitors which might be authorized 😉
I lately stayed at a New York Metropolis lodge that was almost utterly digitized with little or no private interplay. Haute Retreats prides itself on the exact opposite: private help. Why is it vital for you and your organization to go a number of steps past in providing personalised bespoke service?
My profession began within the day when there was not a PC on the entrance desk. The check-in was an important a part of the keep. There was the reserving planner, pencil and rubber…and that’s it – me and the visitor. I come from that faculty. I imagine everybody needs a personalised greeting. You may have a digitized method to different issues, for instance, resembling a restaurant search. However asking your concierge for the most effective restaurant may end up in the truest data. Once I was 17, my first supervisor advised me to apply calling individuals by their names, and I can guarantee there’s a large distinction within the method. I taught and handed this lesson by way of the years. I imagine in hospitality. Human beings create hospitality; it can’t be changed.
The previous yr and a half have nicely illustrated the worth of a non-public trip residence the place crowds are few. Many have taken the premise a step additional to request a non-public island. What number of such properties do you oversee and why particularly is that this a fantastic possibility for vacationers who proceed to apply nice warning?
Personal islands have been at all times a well-liked trip expertise, with Covid much more so. You’ll depart your house by non-public jet and attain the non-public island not seeing or being in touch with some other individuals.
You may stay wherever on the earth, however you’ve chosen to make your property within the area during which you grew up. What’s particular about this a part of Italy, simply exterior of Venice?
I’ve lived in lots of lovely locations. I used to be, let’s say, my very own ‘pioneer.’ I’ve at all times needed to journey since I used to be a toddler. As a toddler, I bear in mind enjoying with the suitcases and appearing as if I used to be leaving and checking in to a brand new place. Once I was 16, I made a decision to take non-public flight classes. I didn’t have my driver’s license, however I needed to succeed in the sky. I took my first solo after I was 17 and I felt I might do something in life. I used to be undecided if I needed to develop into an expert pilot however I needed to journey, so after graduating from hospitality and tourism faculty at 18, and making use of for my H1B Visa, I ended up in St Louis, Missouri on the Hyatt Regency St Louis. The constructing jogged my memory of Italy and the way a lot I used to be lacking my nation. I felt the USA was the land of freedom and the most effective nation on the earth. I ultimately obtained my business pilot license after which lived in Costa Rica for a few years. I met my soulmate and determined to create a household…he’s Italian additionally and we each agreed the most effective place to lift our kids was Italy. After touring and dwelling so a few years overseas the place I lived to my full potential and realized a lot, I imagine my city Pordenone was and is a superb place to lift my youngsters close to my dad and mom and my household. I missed many moments with my household and now since they’re getting outdated it’s good to be close to them and see them. I nonetheless journey for my enterprise or leisure..however I like to come back again. I nonetheless imagine after seeing so many nice locations and dwelling in Boston, or different lovely cities like Miami, that Venice and Rome are the most effective cities on the earth. With the ability to drive to Venice in half-hour makes this place good.