Forte puts faith in private ownership

Sir Rocco Forte, chairman and chief executive of Rocco Forte Hotels, has delivered a warning to corporate owners of five-star hotels, saying that the volatile nature of the market makes it difficult for large public companies to deliver continual short-term growth and profit.

Presenting the 2004 Arena Savoy Lecture to an audience of 250 operators and suppliers at the Savoy hotel in London last week, Forte said that, while Hilton and Whitbread had had "some successes", the best luxury hotels were owned and operated by independent families or small groups, who often have other priorities than profit.

"The hotel business is about the long term - operators and investors must remember that," he said. "A luxury hotel is more than bricks and mortar. It has magic, an aura, which is based on its customers and on serving those customers."

Rocco Forte Hotels, which recently bought Brown's hotel in London, operates eight five-star properties in the UK, Belgium, Italy and Russia.