Upon arrival you are greeted by staff wearing the I love Calabria t-shirt. And it storytelling of the territory unfolds through the experiences that are proposed – from the boat trip to the Calabrian spritz (based, naturally, on Amaro del capo with chilli pepper), you can smell the fragrances Water of the Gods available in the spa, can be enjoyed in the gastronomic options, including those with starred ones. All in an international atmosphere: when we arrive you can hear foreign voices – German ones first and foremost – mixing with those of the Italian guests,
We stayed at Falkensteiner Club Funanimation Calabriawhich, opened in 2005 by Fti – German giant whose bankruptcy has recently shaken the international market – after having passed under other names it has been reopened in 2020 by the South Tyrolean group, which in addition to its brand has made several changes.
The village saw a first phase of renovationwhich affected approx half of the 518 rooms but also other spaces, to bring its spirit closer to that of the desired target: the international sports family. And so the spaces for the little ones have expanded, with indoor and outdoor games and entertainment Falky Landfor example.
The structure is a all inclusive family resort of 124,000 m2 which however also looks at other targets. To the 4 thousand m2 family swimming pool with water slides and spray park alongside it is an adult-only one of 1000 m2. The catering ranges between buffets in front of the pool and a restaurant on the beach, a typical restaurant – included but upon reservation – and the possibility of enjoying a gourmet dinner signed by the starred chef as an extra Theodor Falser which reinvents local excellences such as tuna and Tropea onion.
The private beach can be reached through a pine forest and, to prolong the benefits of iodine and salt, theAcquapura Spa offers Mediterranean wellness rituals that use French products Phytomerwhich exploits the treasures of the sea.
Easily accessible – theLamezia Terme airport is 14 km away – the village also wants to be a point of reference for experiencing the surrounding area. In just ten minutes by car you can go up to Pizzo Calabro to taste the truffle frozen dessert that was invented here. And from the nearby port of Vibo Valentia you can embark on a fishing and fishing excursion dolphin watchingbut also to arrive at Stromboli, Without to forget Tropea and the Coast of the Gods.
Because the mission is precisely that: to offer guests aauthentic experience immersed in the services of a brand that aims to become increasingly premium.
«BECOME A POINT OF REFERENCE FOR QUALITY»
And this is also the challenge that is close to his heart Claudio Giaffreda, passionate general manager of the facility and long-time professional in hospitality dedicated to the German-speaking markets: «We would like to relaunch the Calabria destination and become a quality reference point in the area. We are also working on a show in the spirit of ‘I love Calabria’ that presents guests with a roundup of excellences and personalities of the region».
Families yes, but also openness towards other markets to extend the season: «We open from the end of May, but already a month before the village hosts sports competitions which bring thousands of kids and groups of sports tourism from schools. And then we are investing in the world of MICE, satisfying that desire to feel surrounded by nature and free time even on work occasions. The two meeting rooms can accommodate 300 and 110 people respectively.”
BRAND AWARENESS
Many Italians have (re)discovered the structure, so much so that, as he told us Alessandra Niadahead of marketing Italy, «during our survey on brand awareness we realized that the development has been incredible in southern Italy, where we reach almost 40% of brand recognition, with very strong work on regions such as Calabria, Sicily, Puglia, Campania and Basilicata. Since the hotel opened in 2020, proximity tourism was the only one we could rely on. We geolocalize always a part of the budget allocated to the structures, an interesting channel always remains advertising on local radios”.
In general regarding the group, alone Milan scores 5% of the total revenue on Italy (which reaches 10% if we consider Lombardy), followed by Rome.
CRM, RELAUNCH OF THE LOYALTY PROGRAM AND CROWDFUNDING IN THE CONSTRUCTION SITE
From feasibility studies to benchmarking for new hotels, from advertising to social media, since 2020 Falkensteiner has its Italian marketing office, led by Niada, who follows global guidelines by customizing them to our market. «From a strategic point of view we work to homogenize and give more coherence to our marketing message, which must be created globally and then adapted. Among the next steps we have a large project in the pipeline relating to CRM and the relaunch of loyalty program Spirit of Falkensteiner, scheduled for the first quarter of next year, when we will also rework the site, with a focus on digitalization.”
«We would like to extend it to Italy too crowdfunding program, which is currently only active in Dach countries. In practice, customers and potential customers can invest in the new developments of Falkensteiner (starting from a base of 5 thousand euros) receiving in exchange interest of 5% in cash or 7% if they decide to redeem them in vouchers for holiday stays, a solution chosen in 65% of cases. Now that European legislation allows it, we are looking for ways to also enter Italy, which for us is the third market after Austria and Germany and before Croatia”.
DEVELOPMENTS IN ITALY
It is precisely in our country that there are important projects in the pipeline which will see the light of day in the coming years: «We are planning an opening in Bolzano and the announced Falkensteiner Park Resort Lake Garda in Salò and a new 125-room resort in Licata, in Sicily. And there are other hotels for which contracts have been signed and land purchased, we are finalizing various projects, always in strong destinations for the Dach market.”
