In 1902, Vittorio Fasano founded an Italian restaurant in São Paulo called Brasserie Paulista – a business that grew to become his eponymous hospitality group. Under its fourth-generation owner, Gero Fasano, the company opened its first hotel. Now, with eight establishments in Brazil and one each in New York and Uruguay, it is setting its sights on Miami and London.
How do you choose locations for expansion?
We identify places where we’re confident there’ll be an audience, such as London and Paris. It’s like filling the gaps in a game of Risk and occupying territories that we know will add more value to the company. For now, that’s it. We won’t open a hotel in Nevada any time soon.
What’s your mission when you’re operating in Brazil?
As a company created by an Italian family, our focus is on bringing the country to São Paulo. There are about 25 million people of Italian heritage in Brazil and I would say that 50 per cent of my clients have Italian surnames. We want to present what we consider to be the true Italy to the world.
Could you tell us about the risks of moving Fasano to other countries?
Finding the right location is the biggest challenge. It’s no use having a hotel in London if it’s not in the right area. People still want to be in city centres, where there’s a lot of life. That’s how it will be in London: 100 metres away from The Connaught.
Which hotel do you find yourself returning to?
I stay at The Gritti Palace in Venice at least five days every year. I go to the same places because I’m not very curious. I have a hard time in countries where I don’t speak the language – I get anxious when I can’t read the newspaper headlines.
Read next: IHG’s Christophe Laure on the next era of the Intercontinental and luxury hotel growth
