Having spent greater than 22 years throughout the luxurious hospitality sphere, Sabrina Piccinin possesses a outstanding capacity to evaluate the wants and wishes of the world’s most prosperous and skilled vacationers. And together with her creation of Haute Retreats in 2016, Piccinin greater than meets these wants and wishes by providing a number of the most luxurious and indulgent trip alternatives on the planet.
As founder and CEO of Haute Retreats, Piccinin’s mission isn’t solely to supply the very best in lodging the world over but in addition to supply the very best in service. She believes that whereas the vacation spot itself must 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 business the place for a number of years she served as basic supervisor for numerous high-end resort manufacturers. She then frolicked in Costa Rica as a villa supervisor earlier than establishing Haute Retreats the place her dedication to excellence is confirmed inside each shopper overview. Upscale Residing Journal just lately caught up with the profitable entrepreneur to be taught 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 business for example?
I created Haute Retreats as a result of I wish to have a collection of the very best luxurious villa leases in a single place, with one purpose: to ship excellent companies 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 companies by means of different OTA web sites…you’ll in all probability discover the identical villa on 10 different web sites however you gained’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 complete properties are throughout the Haute Retreats portfolio?
We function in 83 locations. We’ve got 1500 properties on-line and 1300 properties offline that can be added quickly. We choose the villas by means of a guidelines I used once I was basic supervisor for luxurious resorts and tailored to villa leases. I managed over 15 high 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 frequent questions we get is what precisely makes a location an Haute Retreat? The reply isn’t so simple as one may assume. We clearly search for high quality amenities to make sure that our clients have a great 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 specialists 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 gives you some perception into the choice course of.
Look
Quite a bit goes into making a villa seem like a buyer would count on. 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 persona of its personal and impress with its distinctive nature. Failure to do that could have unfavorable penalties on a villa. Structure and design imply quite a bit too. A villa should stand out from others within the space.
Service
Nobody hates going to a villa, or perhaps a resort, solely to pay cash for subpar service. With the intention to be thought-about to be an Haute Retreat, a location should meet our service requirements. They put the shopper first, they anticipate wants, and the employees is skilled to be skilled. Customized service may also make a villa extra prone to seem on the Haute Retreats listing.
Buyer Enter
One of the essential points of an Haute Retreat is buyer enter. If clients don’t take pleasure in their time, it can scale back the rating of a location. However, although, a location that’s favored by clients is prone to succeed on our web site. Clients are the rationale that we run our web site within the first place. We encourage open and sincere suggestions from all of our visitors.
Location
The previous saying, location, location, location truly means one thing. You possibly can’t make a premium villa if you happen to don’t have a great location. Give it some thought; would you quite keep at a beachside villa or one that could be a few blocks away from the seashore? Most individuals would choose the prime location on the seashore. However location additionally means a spot that’s quiet and away from distractions. A great view will typically issue into making a location an Haute Retreat.
Facilities
A part of the rationale you pay a lot when staying away from residence isn’t simply the situation. It’s the facilities. You count on to have sure advantages obtainable wherever you go. To make the standing of being an Haute Retreat, a location wants to supply facilities to match or exceed business requirements for a 5-star resort, from effective eating to the very best 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 be certain that every part is true with the Villa. For instance, we wish to guarantee that upkeep hasn’t lapsed. Our vetting course of is what makes our identify value one thing, and we work onerous to continually uphold and enhance the belief that folks put within the Haute Retreats identify.
Are you, or members of your employees, personally acquainted with every Haute Retreats property?
Sure; we work and collaborate straight with the one that manages and he/she is situated within the vacation spot. We gained’t ship a service or hire a villa in any other case.
What number of staff do you’ve 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 positioning upkeep operations.
What is obtainable of an Haute Retreats keep that can’t be discovered at a resort or resort?
An Haute Retreats provides the privateness of your personal house in a particular location with all of the facilities of a luxurious resort-like for instance Ani Personal Sri Lanka with the employees devoted simply to the visitors that hire it the villa house.
However you do additionally supply villas which are 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 gorgeous personal properties. We choose the villas inside a resort considering the amenities which are going to be devoted solely to the visitors. A personal pool, a personal absolutely outfitted kitchen, for instance, and devoted employees.
What’s one among your favourite Haute Retreats properties, and why?
That may be a robust query… There are such a lot of properties I can listing, however I can be certain that greater than the properties themselves, I imagine it’s the those who create the entire expertise for our visitors. I can identify Casa Tau in Punta Mita,…or our group in Miami is completely the very best particularly relating to last-minute bookings.
What’s the profile of an Haute Retreats shopper? What are their expectations and wishes?
Our visitors look to take pleasure in their trip and to expertise the villa with their households or pals. 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 obtainable on a regular basis for them for last-minute adjustments or requests. They’re excessive profile shoppers from totally different elements of the world, the Center East…The USA and so on. We’re very glad to say we’ve got American visitors who select our companies for his or her holidays within the USA.
You’ll be able to assess a shopper’s trip needs, after which advocate the right villa to fulfill these needs. How do you and your employees make that evaluation and thus information your shopper to their excellent trip?
We schedule a telephone or video name until the shopper 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 seashore. We word the pursuits of all individuals 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 number of the particular facilities that you simply and your employees are capable of organize?
Haute Retreats can host and create an exquisite trip for our visitors. We create chef-hosted dinner on the seashore, a personal tour at night time of the St Marco Cathedral in Venice, a personal tour of the Uffizi, arrange high-speed web within the distant places in a fort within the countryside in Italy for a enterprise retreat. We are able to do something for our visitors which are authorized 😉
I just lately stayed at a New York Metropolis resort that was practically utterly digitized with little or no private interplay. Haute Retreats prides itself on the exact opposite: private help. Why is it essential 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 wishes a personalised greeting. You possibly can have a digitized method to different issues, for instance, reminiscent of a restaurant search. However asking your concierge for the very best restaurant may end up in the truest data. After I was 17, my first supervisor instructed me to apply calling individuals by their names, and I can guarantee there’s a big distinction within the method. I taught and handed this lesson by means of the years. I imagine in hospitality. Human beings create hospitality; it can’t be changed.
The previous yr and a half have properly illustrated the worth of a personal trip residence the place crowds are few. Many have taken the premise a step additional to request a personal island. What number of such properties do you oversee and why particularly is that this an awesome choice 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 personal jet and attain the personal island not seeing or being involved with another individuals.
You possibly can dwell anyplace on the planet, however you’ve chosen to make your house within the area during which you grew up. What’s particular about this a part of Italy, simply outdoors 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 keep in mind enjoying with the suitcases and appearing as if I used to be leaving and checking in to a brand new place. After I was 16, I made a decision to take personal flight classes. I didn’t have my driver’s license, however I needed to achieve the sky. I took my first solo once I was 17 and I felt I might do something in life. I used to be unsure if I needed to develop into knowledgeable pilot however I needed to journey, so after graduating from hospitality and tourism college 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 very best nation on the planet. I finally acquired my industrial 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 very best place to boost our youngsters was Italy. After touring and dwelling so a few years overseas the place I lived to my full potential and discovered a lot, I imagine my city Pordenone was and is a superb place to boost my kids close to my dad and mom and my household. I missed many moments with my household and now since they’re getting previous it’s good to be close to them and see them. I nonetheless journey for my enterprise or leisure..however I like to return 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 very best cities on the planet. Having the ability to drive to Venice in half-hour makes this place excellent.