Born just four years ago, Essence Hotels is preparing to close 2026 with a turnover of 10 million euros, 400 employees, and nine properties, six of which were launched this year alone. “My ambition is to reach ten hotels by 2027,” explains Antonio Cafarelli, CEO of Essence Corporate Company, the Luxembourg-based company that controls Essence Hotels.
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An acceleration certainly favored by the golden age of tourism in Italy, and in particular by the growing demand for high-end hospitality facilities and services, but also by the group’s growth strategy. “The formula works,” notes Cafarelli, who before launching his brand worked for 30 years in the hospitality and tourism sector. “The idea was born in 2022 from my desire to translate many years of experience in different environments of the sector into hospitality as close as possible to the guest and their experience. Our payoff is ‘feel like home’: we want our customers to feel at home in a modern way, that is ‘chic’, ‘lively’ and ‘unconventional’, thus in a sophisticated yet informal and relaxing environment.” These are boutique hotels with a number of rooms between 60 and 120, where the concept of guest assistance, care, and attention is fundamental.
The properties (except two, which were acquired) are managed under long-term lease concession contracts (about 20 years).
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The second acceleration factor is (and will be) financial: the company has just placed a 15 million euro bond on the Vienna Stock Exchange to support future development operations, with a fixed annual coupon of 9%, a nominal value of 100 euros per bond, subscription start on August 27, and maturity set for August 27, 2031. The operation was followed by Francesco Guarnieri, Founder of Guarnieri & Partners Law Firm, as legal advisor, and Luca Lo Po, leading the Capital Market team at Ashurst Perkins Coie.
The development plan includes the acquisition and renovation of other resorts, always within the logic of an international hotel chain, but strongly focused on Italian destinations, although foreign destinations considered “essential” for the type of clientele Essence Hotel targets are not excluded. The group has already opened a 26-room resort on the island of Zanzibar and is looking at locations such as Kenya or the Maldives.
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