Last January the Corinthia-owned International Hotel Investments announced that it had approached the Island Hotels Group, owners of the Radisson St Julian’s, for a merger that would neatly encapsulate the Corinthia’s St Julian’s hotels with the neighbouring Radisson St Julian’s property.  Corinthia Group founder and chairman Alfred Pisani speaks to Rachel Attard about what he has in mind for the ensuing mega six-star project in St Julian’s and other investments

 

The agreement International Hotels Investments (IHI) recently reached with the Island Hotels Group Holdings (IHGH) is a promise of sale for a deal which is divided into two parts – a sale of part of the property and the amalgamation of the rest of it under the Corinthia brand, according to Corinthia Group founder and chairman Alfred Pisani.

Discussions with the Radisson group (IHGH) started three years ago. Corinthia’s idea is to develop two hotels, similar to what the company did in London in terms of quality and standards, developing a complex that is a notch higher than standards achieved so far in Malta.

Speaking with The Malta Independent on Sunday, Mr Pisani emphasised: “We are neighbours with the Island Group; we do the same type of work and we have the same type of respect for our employees. That is why we saw a common synergy to merge.”

Corinthia Group’s vision for that site is to develop a concept that will represent a complete innovation in terms of the country’s tourism offering, such as larger hotel rooms than what the country currently offers. Suites, in fact, will be around 60 square metres in size, while penthouses will be nearly double that at 100 square metres.

Mr Pisani said: “Today, the number of rooms the three hotels share total around 20,000 square metres. The rooms we are going to build are going to cover around 25,000 square metres in total. As such, the rooms are going to be bigger.” Asked if there is going to be any real estate development in addition to the luxurious 6-star hotel, Mr Pisani replied in the affirmative.

He added that the whole development will come with a price tag of around half a billion euros.

Mr Pisani was asked if he will maintain the promise that no employees will lose their jobs. He said, “we are ultimately going to employ more workers than we already have once the project is finished. Prior to the beginning of construction work, an agreement with the workers will be reached. This will be discussed in detail with their representatives. Once the whole project is completed, the full staff complement will increase by at least 40 per cent, spread across various activities.”

When asked when work on this project is going to start, Mr Pisani said that it should start in about 14 months. However, the final details are not yet finalised because there is still a lot of paper work to be done and the project itself needs to be approved by Parliament.

Mr Pisani, whose company is one of the largest Maltese multinationals, if not the largest, also spoke about the potential that he sees in Malta.

“This country has significant potential to also attract upmarket and sophisticated tourists and clients. This does not mean that two, three and four star tourists will stop coming. A time will come when the saturation point will be reached and we therefore need to aim for higher rates all round. It is not enough to have good hotels; we also need to have high standard products and services all round, like infrastructure, roads and restaurants, and I am convinced that we will reach this goal. A national effort will be needed and I am sure we will succeed.”

Asked how he plans to attract six-star tourists, when at present the surrounding area is somewhat neglected and with the nightlife mecca of Paceville so close by, Mr Pisani said he is convinced that the government and respective authorities are of the same mindset, insofar as the environs needing a facelift to be rendered tidier.

The London hotel and other projects

Since the opening of the Corinthia’s London hotel three years ago, the property has been giving the group excellent results. With a satisfied look on his face, Alfred Pisani said that according to the Trip Advisor ranking, the London Hotel is always rated as the best or second-best hotel in London, although it is competing with other hotels that have been established in London for decades.

Alfred Pisani, together with his company, is always on the look-out for another adventure somewhere around the globe. The next target is Rome. Mr Pisani says that at the moment, discussions are taking place with an investor who would like Corinthia group to develop and operate a hotel in the Italian capital, which would have the Corinthia brand name on it. Mr Pisani says that the aim is to continue to be present in other cities and places around the world but stresses that the group will never forget its commitment to the development of Malta.

What is Alfred Pisani’s dream? In the eyes of outsiders, the Corinthia Group may be seen to be a huge enterprise at the moment, but Mr Pisani would like future generations to think that Corinthia in 2015 was still a ‘small’ operation.