Brothers Jan Bucher and Paolo Bucher (seated), at their hotel, Grand Hotel Villa Serbelloni, in Italy, a 152-year-old luxury property overlooking Lake Como.FTfoto/Supplied
Choosing a hotel can be like deciding where to buy your coffee. Do you go for corporate or indie? Do you cash in reward points for a big-brand (and perhaps bland, cookie-cutter) property? Or do you seek out an independent that’s more colourful and (often) family owned?
According to the Hotel Association of Canada, there are 8,385 “hotel establishments” in Canada, and while 55 per cent of those are independently run, only 10 per cent operate without the umbrella of a larger corporate brand name.
From family owned and operated, where owners run the hotel, to family owned and, let’s say, influenced. This is when owners hire others to run the hotel like they would. Often, these hotels become part of a hotel association, such as Relais & Châteaux, Set Hotels or Small Luxury Hotels of the World. They get the luxury clout without losing their independence. They offer a less corporate approach, which can make a big difference in a guest’s stay.
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It starts from the moment a guest walks through the front door. Sitting in the lobby of Vancouver’s Wedgewood Hotel & Spa – family run for three generations – I regularly heard the concierge call out “Welcome home!” to guests returning from a day exploring the city. And during my two-night stay at the boutique, 82-room property, staff during every shift at the front desk and concierge desk knew my name and used it. They asked about my day and predicaments from the day before. This kind of feel-good welcome in a five-star hotel made me wonder about the uniqueness of family-owned hospitality.
“It’s really special that people walk in and immediately feel that warmth,” says Eleni Jackson, Wedgewood’s marketing and operations manager, who shares an office with her mom, Elpie Marinakis, who is co-owner and managing director.
Elpie Marinakis (left) and her daughter Eleni Jackson, the mother-daughter duo who run Vancouver’s Wedgewood Hotel & Spa.Wedgewood Hotel
Jackson is the latest generation to help run the Wedgewood. Her grandmother Eleni Skalbania purchased the hotel in the mid-1980s and eventually convinced her daughter – Elpie – to give up being a lawyer to work at the hotel (being a new mother helped).
Granddaughter Eleni was 13 when she began working part time in housekeeping. After she earned a politics degree and worked outside the family business, her mom slowly pulled her in. “We want to appeal to a younger traveller,” Elpie said, “Eleni brings so much to the table, it’s made me question a lot of things. One thing with my mom – she was great but she was very traditionally Greek. I couldn’t offer my opinion very often.”
Jackson brought welcome changes to the Wedgewood: she punched up its social-media presence, and insisted on fun cocktails and a more approachable wine list for younger diners. She’s pushed for musicians with a modern playlist in the lounge and added cultural events to bring in and create community. It all helps the Wedgewood stand out in a city where the competition includes four Fairmonts and several other luxury brands.
The Wedgewood lobby.Wedgewood Hotel
A four-generation family-run hotel on Lake Como, Italy, is also feeling the heat from competing big brand names. The Bucher family of Grand Hotel Villa Serbelloni, however, believes their deep roots in Bellagio give them an edge.
Owners Gianfranco Bucher and his wife, Dusia, still keep an apartment on the first floor of the 152-year-old luxury property, even though they’ve handed over day-to-day operations to middle son and general manager Jan Bucher.
Ludovica Rocchi, owner and brand manager at R Collection Hotels.Supplied
Jan grew up in the hotel. Since the family suite was over the spa, he and his siblings were forced to stay quiet during its open hours. “Living here was both fun and horrible,” he says over drinks during my visit. “From the outside, living in a five-star palace is fun but my parents were very strict. We could only use the pool at off hours.” He laughs about being brusquely shooed out of the fine-dining restaurant by waiters, though it wasn’t funny at the time.
Earlier this year the first chain hotel (Marriott’s Edition) opened up across the lake from Villa Serbelloni and a Ritz is under construction down the street. Jan says their focus on quality – you might call it a “stealth wealth” approach – will keep his family-run property booked with repeat guests who appreciate the good things in life. Things such as linen sheets, handmade silk duvets (which staff take apart to clean and refluff each season), access to the family’s rare vintage wine collection, plus their large collection of art, antiques and orchids throughout the hotel.
“Italian old money is about Italian craftsmanship,” he says. “What I learned from my parents is that I do not follow trends … that’s why we’ve been here for 150 years.”
Grand Hotel Villa Serbelloni.FTfoto/Supplied
But whether a hotelier family owns one property or a dozen, they insist it’s the personal touch that makes a difference. The Italian Rocchi family runs high-end properties in historic buildings in Italy and the Italian Alps. “R Collection is our legacy and reputation,” says Ludovica Rocchi, owner and brand director. “We are committed to prioritizing quality of stay and guest experience over profit margins.”
Of the 11 R Collection hotels, the family manages all but owns and operates just over half. In Milan, even guests at its businesslike Hotel Mentana enjoy familial luxury in the form of biscuits at the front desk and breakfast buffet staff who are always encouraging you to eat more. This is Italy after all.
Grand Hotel Courmayeur Mont Blanc, R Collection hotels.Diego De Pol/Supplied
When it’s time to expand, new locations are chosen based on where the family loves to go on holiday. “My family has spent many years and memories in Courmayeur,” Rocchi says about two new alpine properties. “This connection allows us to collaborate with local businesses and artisans, offering our guests a more genuine experience.”
Scaling up the family business isn’t something Quebec’s Germain Hôtels takes lightly either. The family-run company uses three brands for its 19 hotels (the 20th opens in January): luxury-focused Le Germain, moderately priced Alt and longer-stay Escad, all of which attract a mostly Canadian clientele.
Le Germain Hotel Toronto.Germain Hotels/Supplied
Co-presidents Marie Pier Germain and her cousin Hugo Germain recognize that keeping the right staff, who convey an open, friendly hospitality, is key. “Our industry is all about people,” Marie Pier says. “We have the family name,” Hugo notes, motioning to Marie Pier during an online interview, “but we have people who’ve been working with us 20, 25, 35 some even 45 years …. it’s like their last name is Germain! We cultivate that.”
The second-generation hoteliers now run the business started by their parents, siblings Christiane and Jean-Yves Germain, who opened the first hotel in Quebec City in 1988. Marie Pier and Hugo followed their parents around hotel corridors, folding towels in the laundry room, begging for plates of spaghetti in the restaurant and eventually getting paid to wash dishes.
“Our main challenge,” Hugo notes, “is making sure that when you walk into a hotel in Saskatoon or when you walk into a hotel in St. John’s, Newfoundland or Calgary that you recognize there’s something different here.”
Marie Pier and Hugo Germain.Germain Hotels/Supplied
For the Germains, that begins with warm greetings from staff and well-designed rooms for modern travellers and continues with a dedication to using Canadian suppliers, such as bespoke Quebec-made bath products.
When every hotel has high thread-count sheets and lavish amenities, it’s the influence of a family dynamic that makes an impression. In Vancouver, the Wedgewood’s Jackson says it’s not always easy. “My mom really is my mentor but sometimes you just want a mom to be a mom. … For us, business is so intertwined with family. The success of our family and the business are really one.”
“It’s a legacy,” Marinakis nods in agreement.
A legacy that every guest becomes part of once they walk into the lobby.
Editor’s note: A previous version of this article incorrectly reported that the Rocchi family's hotels included properties in the French Alps. This version has been corrected.