Sir Rocco Forte Receives Leader in Luxury Award
Sir Rocco Forte, Chairman and Chief Executive of Rocco Forte Hotels, is in Las Vegas for the seventh annual Luxury Travel Expo today (Thursday, 8 December) to accept a Leaders in Luxury award in recognition of his outstanding accomplishments in the hotel industry.
Sir Rocco Forte, Chairman and Chief Executive of Rocco Forte Hotels, is in Las Vegas for the seventh annual Luxury Travel Expo today (Thursday, 8 December) to accept a Leaders in Luxury award in recognition of his outstanding accomplishments in the hotel industry.
The prestigious Leaders in Luxury awards ceremony is the grand finale of Luxury Travel Expo, which attracts the largest gathering of luxury suppliers in the world and is an opportunity for exhibitors, which include luxury travel destinations, cruise lines, hotels and tour operators, to meet with travel agents and industry leaders to discuss how best to promote the luxury travel market.
The Leaders in Luxury awards are presented to those individuals who have shown exemplified superior leadership in four categories, namely Hotel, Cruise, Tour and Travel Professional. The award recipients are carefully selected by the editors of three of the leading travel publications in the United States: Travel Agent Magazine, Luxury Travel Advisor and Premier Hotels & Resorts.
Previous winners of the hotel award include Paul McManus, President & CEO, The Leading Hotels of the World; Isadore Sharpe, Chairman and CEO, Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts; Chris Cahill, President & COO, Fairmount Hotels and Resorts; and Simon S. Cooper, President & COO, The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company. Sir Rocco is the first European hotelier to receive the award.
Sir Rocco was Chairman and Chief Executive of Forte Plc until it was subjected to a hostile takeover bid in 1996. He has since proven his passion for the industry by starting again with Rocco Forte Hotels, a collection of luxury hotels that is enjoying an aggressive expansion throughout Europe. Ten luxury hotels have been launched in as many years and Rocco Forte Hotels’ flagship Brown’s Hotel opens in London on Monday, 12 December.
Over the next three years, an additional five properties will open, as Sir Rocco continues to work towards his aim of building a collection of luxury hotels covering all major European cities. Three properties are under construction in Germany (Villa Kennedy opens in Frankfurt in March 2006, Hotel de Rome in Berlin in September 2006 and a yet to be named Munich property in 2007) making Rocco Forte Hotels the country’s market leader with regard to luxury hotels.
A luxury hotel is also due to open in Prague in 2007 and work has recently started on Rocco Forte Hotels’ first resort property, Verdura Golf Resort & Spa, which will open in Sicily in 2008, bringing the total number of hotels in the Rocco Forte Hotels collection to 15.
All members of the Rocco Forte Hotels collection share a commitment to individual stylish design, attention to detail, exceptional levels of comfort and personal service, and the latest technology.
Sir Rocco Forte personally leads the management team at the corporate office in London, supported by the two Managing Directors - Richard Power and Moreno Occhiolini - who oversee operations at the properties. His sister, Olga Polizzi, takes responsibility for the design of the properties.