My love for hotels

“As a child, I spent every summer in the family hotel, wandering through the rooms and hallways as guests came and went with their suitcases. When it came time to take over the business my grandfather started almost 50 years ago, I knew this was my path.” Valentina De Santis is the third generation of a family of hotel entrepreneurs offering luxury hospitality on Lake Como with several establishments: Grand Hotel Tremezzo, Passalacqua, and Sheraton Lake Como. 

“I have no hotel training or experience, but I grew up loving hotels. My studies instead were focused on management: I graduated in Economics from the CLEACC [Economics and Management for Arts, Culture, and Communication] at Bocconi University, a course that allowed me to study subjects related to tourism before specializing in management.” 

Then she joined Bain & Company, a strategic consulting firm. She worked there for four years in the Fashion and Luxury Practice under Claudia D’Arpizio, who taught De Santis a great deal. In 2010, her father asked her to take over the management of the family business. “That year the Grand Hotel Tremezzo was celebrating its 100th anniversary and my father, with a great act of faith, asked me to join him. I couldn’t say no at such an important moment, even though it was a huge challenge. And so, De Santis began managing the company’s sales and marketing department, promoting the family’s idea of hospitality around the world. 

“It is a wonderful job,” she explains, “all about love and passion. I like getting the chance to convey to guests from all over the world the warmth of Italian hospitality that only a family can give.” 

But it is not an easy job to do. “Hospitality is an all-encompassing industry, not just in terms of management. There are no timetables, and the line between your work life and your private life is often very thin. I became a mother of two beautiful children and realized how important it is – and difficult at the same time – to find a balance.” But it is possible, she insists, and women must not give up when faced with challenges. This is also why she wanted to have a significant number of women in her team, which is responsible for the hotel’s business strategy. “This is an area where female sensitivity makes a difference, there are still few women in top positions, but fortunately this has been changing in recent years,” she adds. 

Family, Italian-ness, excellence. These are the values that De Santis tries to bring to her daily work. “I have always loved to travel, and I see human relations as a great opportunity. Every day I try to learn from my guests and give them the best of Made in Italy, even beyond the walls of the hotel.”