The rise of independent female hoteliers: from Valentina De Santis with Passalacqua, rated one of the best hotels in the world, to Esin Güral Argat with Joali in the Maldives

South China Morning Post

4 days ago

The hospitality industry has long been powered by women but it wasn't until the mid-1990s, when Singaporean hotelier Cristina Ong founded Como Hotels and Resorts that female founders started to attract the spotlight. Women like Rosewood's Sonia Cheng and Marie-Louise Scio from Pellicano Group have taken the helm of their family businesses and focused on new brands, openings and acquisitions. Others like Italian Irene Forte, heir to Rocco Forte Hotels, have carved their own niche by experimenting with new concepts ranging from wellness to fashion.
Now a new generation of female founders are moving beyond their family legacies to create
fresh hotel concepts that reflect their own personalities, while catering to the needs and desires of a new breed of travellers.
Al Moudira Hotel in Luxor, Egypt. Photo: Handout
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'Today most female-run hotels are not big chain hotels. Many of these properties are independent and showcase the founder's unique personal touch. Female hoteliers today are intent on doing things their own way – it's not about following the masses,' says Zeina Aboukheir, founder of Al Moudira.
Aboukheir is not a new name. The Italian-Lebanese tastemaker launched Luxor's now famed Al Moudira Hotel in 2002, before selling it in 2022 (she is still a consultant). The chic boutique hotel was designed by renowned Egyptian architect Olivier Sednaoui, but every detail was conceived by Aboukheir, including its old-world interiors featuring artworks and antiques she sourced, from handcrafted doors to hand-painted floor tiles.
'Twenty-five years ago it was already strange to have someone building a hotel in Egypt in the middle of the desert, let alone a woman,' she explains. 'Al Moudira has been successful because it has a special charm – everything is personal. It reflects my tastes and personality. It's a little bit of a mess, like me.'
Zeina Aboukheir, founder of Al Moudira. Photo: Handout
Italian hotelier Valentina De Santis is another ambitious hotelier who has made waves by transforming an 18th century private villa on
the banks of Lake Como into Passalacqua, one of the best hotels in the world (an accolade bestowed upon the hotel by the World's 50 Best organisation, William Reed Business Media, in 2023). Hospitality runs in her veins – her grandfather bought Grand Hotel Tremezzo, another iconic property on Italy's Lake Como, in 1975. She joined the family business in 2010, but it wasn't until 2018, when they stumbled upon the property, that she was ready to build a new concept from the ground up.
De Santis meticulously restored and updated the villa's historic interiors, while also engaging her good friend, renowned Milan-based designer J.J. Martin of La DoubleJ, to help her transform the hotel's pool and bar areas with her colourful and maximalist prints.
Valentina De Santis, founder of Passalacqua. Photo: Handout
'It was the first time J.J. worked on a design project but we loved the idea of doing something together. Hospitality is still quite a male-dominated industry but the attention to detail, the kindness, the feminine touch a woman can bring to a property are unique. Guests are always saying our hotel has a female heart,' she says.