An Italian firm that has become a multi-national offers insight into the hospitality market.
Consonni offers insight into the hospitality market in Italy and abroad along with the key to their growing success in a competitive international marketplace.
What are the characteristics of the hotel industry abroad in comparison with that of Italy?
There are substantial differences in terms of size and structure. In comparison to Italian hotels, the average size of hotel facilities abroad is ‘normally’ much larger (in terms of both area and number of rooms). Italy is also characterized by a strongly fragmented market composed of multiple hotel owners, compared to abroad, where the concentration of large hotel chains dominates the market. It’s clear that these two components make our market an exception to the rule, especially when compared to non-European markets.
What are your target markets?
Certainly both the Arab countries and the Swiss; however, for some time our company has been pursuing a sales strategy aimed at emerging countries, hence our presence in the Congo, Kazakhstan and Iraq.
How do you enter foreign markets and what are the strategies you put in place to obtain important contracts in the international arena?
For several years now Consonni has expanded the range of services available to our clients and we are now able to offer competitive and professional service for a genuine “turnkey project”, which encompasses every aspect of renovation or new construction, with the sole exception of civil engineering. Thanks to this capacity, and with the addition of our new Chief Commercial Officer, Gian Luca Colombo, we are now able to respond to the new and more sophisticated needs of foreign markets. Certainly our 50 years of experience in the contract sector also plays an important role, along with the fact that, for Consonni, this market represents the fundamental core of its business to which all of the firm’s resources are dedicated. So, there are no magic formulas, only the extensive experience and professionalism for which we’ve come to be recognized.
Do you have branch offices abroad?
Yes of course, we currently have offices in India, UAE, Switzerland, Congo and Kazakhstan. We are, in effect, a multinational structure and we are organized as such; we believe that an important key to success is a constant presence in the markets where we want to invest and expand.
How do you manage Real Estate relations?
Real Estate represents a sector of our clientele, so, these clients are managed in an attentive and professional manner in which we seek to support them and meet their needs in terms of products and services. What our Real Estate clients appreciate most about Consonni is our capacity to provide technical assistance and collaboration in the development phase of the project; above all in the specification of interior finishes, an area where they may be lacking in terms of structure and experience.
Turnkey projects: have you developed all of the necessary competencies in-house or do you outsource?
Our business strategy is primarily aimed towards internalizing professionalism in such a way that we always have timely and exacting control over supplier contracts and outsourcing and we continue to organize and develop on this foundation.
Interview with Consonni’s COO, Gian Luca Colombo courtesy of Suite
