In conversation with Giovanni Valentini, CEO Apex Alliance Hotel Management (Exclusive Interview)

Apex Alliance was founded in 2016 and, over the past eight years, has demonstrated significant success in two key areas: hotel management and hotel development. I joined Apex Alliance Hotel Management as the CEO in June 2023, marking the start of an exciting new chapter for our company.

The company was originally established in Lithuania, and its growth story is rooted in the vision and leadership of its key partners: Arūnas Beleška, Vytautas Drumelis, and Augustinas Barauskas. From the very beginning, their collective focus has been on strategic investments in hotel properties across Central, Eastern, and Southern Europe, helping shape the hospitality landscape in these regions.

The company’s first milestone came with the acquisition and management of Hilton Garden Inn Bucharest Old Town, which set the foundation for what would become a rapidly growing portfolio of properties. Over the years, we have expanded both our expertise and our geographic footprint, partnering with prestigious global brands such as Hilton Worldwide, Marriott International, and Radisson Hotel Group. These collaborations have allowed us to enhance and manage properties in strategic locations, continually improving performance and guest satisfaction.

Today, Apex Alliance manages 15 hotels with a total of 2,488 rooms across 5 countries: 

LITHUANIA

Vilnius, Kaunas,
6 hotels / 870 rooms

ROMANIA

Bucharest,
6 hotels/ 1106 rooms

ITALY

Gardone Riviera,
1 hotel/ 150 rooms

POLAND

Krakow
1 hotel / 173 rooms

LATVIA

Riga,
1 hotel / 189 rooms

Our core team includes over 40 hospitality and field professionals, while more than 1,000 employees work across our managed hotels. We have successfully developed six hotels, with three more currently in the pipeline, and the market value of the properties we’ve developed is an impressive 535 million euros

What was the motivation behind your current business model? Which were the early signs of the opportunities you have been pursuing?

Our current business model is centred around strong partnerships with three of the world’s leading international hotel brands: Hilton Worldwide, Marriott International, and Radisson Hotel Group. This approach allows us to leverage their global reach and brand recognition while enhancing and managing properties in prime locations.

The motivation behind this model stems from our ability to combine property acquisition, development, and full-spectrum hotel management services. Together with our investors, we acquire properties, often underperforming or with potential for rebranding, and manage them directly. We enhance these properties by rebranding them under global brands, collaborating with owners, supporting them during the renovation phase, and managing entire operations.

Our focus is on key target markets – specifically Central, Eastern, and Southern Europe. This is where we see growth potential for quality hospitality, and where we’ve built a solid reputation over the years. A significant factor in our success has been the trust we’ve earned from property owners and international brands alike. We’ve established a proven track record, built on delivering results and offering a co-creative, flexible approach that allows both hotel owners and investors to actively participate in the business process.

At the heart of our model is a 360-degree management model, covering all areas of hotel operations. Our commitment to treating our partners’ hotels as if they were our own ensures that we deliver both exceptional guest experiences and strong financial performance. This collaborative and transparent approach has been key to our growth and continued success.

You work with major international hotel groups. How do you make the choice for a particular brand and project?

We choose brands by accessing many strategic factors:

• The local economy, demographics, travel trends and target clientele to incorporate all the needs of potential guests.
• We conduct a competitors analysis, observing strengths and weaknesses of existing hotels in the current market and how the proposed brand can differentiate itself.
• A strong brand identity is key when aligning with a chosen hotel image, values and target clientele. When considering strategic luxury factors, each market niche is determined by amenities, facilities and guest journey experience.
• Brand Recognition programs also support the decision-making process.
• Brand standards for design, operations, and guest services are crucial factors in determining the cost per room or available square meter. Investment and return on investment play a significant role in this process. From lifestyle mid-scale hotels to upscale, upper upscale and luxury, the brand decision is key to the service standards, assuring the brand’s offering meets the needs of guests, and ROI.

How important is to make the right brand choice for each of your properties?

Choosing the right brand is essential to the success of the property in question. Target audience alignment, rump-up,  market penetration, market share, revenue generation, guest experience, recognition and loyalty, brand promise,and operational efficiency contribute to accelerate success.

Your operations imply an expert understanding of each market you are operating in.

Our expertise and commitment to enhancing performance are reflected in three core areas:

1. Business Focus: We prioritise delivering strong business results and maximising return on investment, consistently aiming to surpass industry benchmarks.
2. Guest Experience: Guest satisfaction is central to our mission, and it remains our primary goal and driving ambition.
3. Personalized Approach: We bring our experience, commitment, and passion to the operations of each hotel, offering a customized and flexible decision-making process that caters to the unique requirements of every property.

By combining these areas of expertise, we deliver both exceptional guest experiences and robust financial results for our partners.

As the certified third-party operator authorised by Hilton, Marriott, Radisson, Accor and IHG, we bring a broader range of expertise and enabling us  to upfront challenges and to overcome efficiency, and implement strategic actions. From a focus on revenue growth, we also prioritise bottom line efficiency through cost control and optimisation.

Our main objective is to enhance the asset value by having a broader team approach in every hotel department, with flexibility on creative solutions which are incorporated into cooperation agreements.

Our streamlined decision-making process is a huge advantage, while constantly reducing operational risk with the implementation of insurance policies and Governance SOPs architecture. With so, our expertise extends to a tailor-made and asset-centric approach, advising and supporting our peers, stakeholders and teams during development stages. Another important element of our success lies in our approach to building strong local teams for each hotel. We ensure that local expertise is integrated into our operations, addressing strategic market needs and adapting to specific regional dynamics.

To what extent are you involved in the financing, investment,  development of a hotel project?

In every stage of financing, investment and development, depending on the project, we are involved 100%. For models whereby only HMA’s hotel management agreements are signed, we provide consultancy during the development stages and take full management from pre-opening phase.

Do you fully operate all the properties in your portfolio?

Yes, we currently fully operate 15 hotels, of which 5 are Marriotts, 6 are Hiltons, 2 Radisson and 2 independent hotels.

Have you considered launching your own hotel brand? Do you operate properties which are non-affiliated to an international chain?

For now our strategy is to buy and sell assets, while we retain HMA services. The aspiration to run our own brand will encompass a high capital investment and lots of infrastructure development.

Despite the above, We are developing Apex Alliance owned Restaurant Concept & Brand, which we will introduce in the beginning of 2025.

Your portfolio spans economy to luxury. Some of the luxury hotels you operate are landmarks in the respective destinations.

Absolutely, quality is our main purpose. We run 15 hotels in 5 countries with 2488 hotel rooms. 3 of them are our Premium, while the rest are lifestyle, midscale and upper scale.

While our luxury hotels provide high quality accommodations with excellent service and above average amenities, our lifestyle midscale and upscale still provide comprehensive and high quality accommodations, excellent service and operational efficiencies.

The luxury and upscale hotels also have facilities incorporated in their offering. The key to success for our company is to provide each guest with exactly what they are searching for, with the sparkle of an outstanding service delivery to ensure a person-centred approach is executed at all times.

What is your approach to ensuring consistency in service throughout your entire portfolio? Which are the HR advantages for how your group and portfolio are structured?

We offer a comprehensive 360-degree approach to hotel management, ensuring that every aspect of a property is meticulously handled for optimal performance and guest satisfaction.

Our areas of expertise include 10 main pillars which are: IT & Technology, Financial and Costs Control, HR and People Development, Task Forces, Legal and Corporate Governance, Procurement, F&B, Commercial and Operational.

Furthermore, we offer consistency, constant quality improvements and efficiency actions, by running our internal Auditing, automated systems on Maintenance, HR and People systems, BI, Procurement systems and commercial platforms. Last, most important, sustainability project with the triple bottom line strategy.

Recently, together with Paval Holding, we acquired the Waldhaus Flims Wellness Resort, a renowned luxury destination in the Swiss Alps. With this acquisition, we mark its second high-profile international investment, following the acquisition of the historic Grand Hotel Gardone in Italy in 2023. Meanwhile, Apex Alliance will expand its portfolio to 17 hotels across Europe, including global brands such as Hilton, Marriott, and Radisson.

The company has plans to renovate the Waldhaus Flims Wellness Resort, with the goal of re-opening it as a luxurious 5-star property and welcoming its first guests in 2025. Scheduled to commence in 2024-2025, this investment plan will enhance the resort’s facilities

The Waldhaus Flims Wellness Resort boasts six distinct buildings, including The Grand Hotel, The Villa, The Pavilion, and the renowned SPA & Wellness Center, along with extensive facilities such as tennis courts, event spaces and diverse dining options. The resort is planned to feature 143 rooms and suites, each designed to offer spectacular mountain views and ultimate comfort.

Giovanni Valentini, CEO Apex Alliance Hotel Management