Garnet’s Team

Boutique hotel asset management firm with active accounts across Italy.

Throughout his 32-year career in hospitality Pierpaolo acted as promoter, General Manager, advisor and co-investor in numerous hospitality real estate and management ventures across Italy, successfully developing projects in Rome, Milan, Genoa, Tuscany, Rimini and Verona. Specifically Pierpaolo sponsored and co-promoted 70+ hotel ventures for a total of approximately € 200M of invested capital through different vehicle, establishing franchising partnerships with about 10 international brands and supporting 20+ core and value-add equity providers active in the hotel sector.

The most noteworthy transaction consisted in the acquisition, repositioning and disposal of the 168-key Grand Hotel di Rimini, sold in 2006 for a value of € 67M after growing GOR by 50%+ and EBITDA by 125%.

Lead promoter of a non-profit organization aimed at fostering corporate social responsibility and supporting childcarev projects across South America, Africa and Eastern Europe.

Responsible to source, analyse and execute acquisitions opportunities to growth the platform’s presence in Italy, France and other key markets through real estate acquisitions in partnership with BlackRock RE.

Groundwork for the project development including preparation of the business plan and project brief and coordination with the architects, administrative entities, potential operators and other stakeholders.

• Assisted on the exploration and execution of the company’s strategic long-term ventures;
• Developed strategic partnerships with brands and investors, both private and institutional;
• Sourced development leads and executed financial, technical, qualitative analysis of all opportunities;
• Prepared development pitches, market studies and drafting/review of commercial agreements.

Conducted hotel feasibility studies, supply and demand analysis, proforma development and financial modelling for deal valuations. Worked on 50+ assignments across the region for all 9 Starwood’s brands and conducted field research across Europe, Africa and the Middle East.

Responsible for the advisory Projects of Horwath HTL in Italy and Albania.

Part of the Hospitality & Tourism Advisory Team, in charge of:

• Market analysis and database management;
  Feasibility studies aiming at defining the highest and best use of land and buildings for hospitality projects (hotels, resorts, wellness centres, aparthotels, PBSA);
• Due Diligence e Valuations for acquisitions/disposal/lending;
  Positioning and organizational planning for Italian Hotel Chains;
• Market entry strategy and investment strategy for Italian and international Hotel Chains and Investment Funds;
• Tourism Masterplanning of new destinations in Albania and Caribbean;
• Operator Search and Lease/Management contracts negotiation on behalf of Hotel Owners and Developers.

Southern Italy Area Manager for a total of 5 properties, responsible of hotel operations.

Responsible for the reorganization of a portfolio of 14 hotels, including a hotel in Nice and a resort in Malindi, Kenya, for a total of 920 keys. In charge of strategy definition and implementation, Vincenzo has achieved a substantial improvement in performance reaching a target turnover of €18m.

• Modena: commercial strategy, staff training, execution of capex/opex plans;
• Palermo: reorganization of operating structure and cost optimization (+48% di GOP);
• Verona: rebranding under the Holiday Inn brand, compliance, repositioning of the hotels on the market and operational strategy (+100% in revenues and +256% in GOP).

Responsible for sales and marketing of the hotels branded Motel Agip and management of a full-service beach resort with capacity for over 2,000 guests, rebranded under the Forte Agip brand.

Optimization of AFC processes though the implementation of dedicated tools and procedures.

Responsible of cash-flow management and planning on a group level, including:

• Debit and credit monitoring and management;
• Relations with banks and other financial institutions;
• Management of subsidized finance related projects;
• Support and supervision of administrative activities linked to the whole accounting cycle and interface with external consultants and auditors;
• Drafting of company procedures.

Accounting, tax obligations, analytics and preparation of the financial statements.

Accounting, tax and administrative practice.

Nicola has over 15 years of experience in the F&B sector and is specialized in the development of restaurant and bar concepts, which entails  the implementation of SOPs and service standards, all-round staff training, business analytics and operational improvement.

Following various experiences as Hotel F&B Manager with Starhotels, Nicola held the role of Global Head of F&B first at Illycaffè and then at Moleskine, where he was responsible for the development of the groups’ restaurant concept on an international level.