Billionaire businessmen and brothers David and Simon Reuben have purchased Venice's Baglioni Hotel Luna for approximately €100 million.
As reported by The Financial Times, the purchase of Venice's Baglioni Hotel Luna is the latest investment in a string of hotel and retail investments that the Reubens brothers have made since the COVID-19 pandemic began.
Last year, the brothers invested approximately $3.8 billion in Europe and the US, acquiring assets such as The Surrey hotel in New York and the Corinthia hotel in Rome.
Speaking to The Financial Times, Simon Reubens said, "We are passionate about high quality hotels and want to support where we can."
Second Investment In Venice's Hotel Market
The purchase of the Baglioni Hotel Luna is the brothers' second investment in Venice's hotel market following the acquisition of the city's Il Palazzo Experimental hotel in 2017.
The Baglioni Hotel Luna extends to 90,000 square feet and dates back to the twelfth century.
Refurbishment work has already started at the hotel, and the brothers are hoping to open it to guests in the summer of 2021.
"Historic City Centres Will Always Attract New Residents And Vistiors"
While an estimate by research firm Statista stated that arrivals to Venice decreased by 71% year-on-year in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Simon Reuben told The Financial Times that he believes that "the world will eventually return to a new normality and historic city centres will always attract new residents and visitors."
© 2021 Hospitality Ireland – your source for the latest industry news. Article by Dave Simpson. Click subscribe to sign up for the Hospitality Ireland print edition.
