the process is also facilitated by an important
trait in the character of the Maltese - loyalty
an impression of the new hotel entrance
manages 10 hotels, as also 14 other hotels of third
parties. Each owned hotel calls for significant capital
expenditure. On the other hand, hotel management
services do not need capital investment, and most of
the expenses are ultimately borne by the client.
A major milestone for Corinthia was the process of
going public. Alfred expressed concern about genera-
tion changes within family run companies in that of-
ten things tend to become argumentative and self-de-
structive at the stage of second generation. He worked
towards setting up a clear demarcation between share-
holder, board and management and did this through
the setting up of good governance structures. For
Alfred, “in years to come, the Pisanis will not be re-
membered, but Corinthia will continue and that to
me is the biggest achievement and satisfaction”.
FUTURE DIRECTIONS
Alfred Pisani is not resting on his laurels, and is now
looking at the road ahead. An important aspect in
which the Group is investing relates to the setting up
of a training academy. Alfred states bluntly, “we have
to do this”. Good human talent is hard to come by
so the company sees value in developing expertise in-
house. Alfred believes that in some ways “the process
is also facilitated by an important trait in the character
of the Maltese - loyalty.”
HOSPITALITY MALTA
According to Alfred, talent is important however it ac-
counts to only around 15% of achievement in that the
remainder is the result of persistence, commitment and
passion. He sees more value in the person who measures
at a value of ‘6’ and delivers at the value of ‘6’ than in
the person who measures at ‘10’ but then delivers at ‘8’.
Our future on the Malta scene is linked to the rec ent
acquisition of the Island Hotels Group and the plan to set
up a 6-star hotel, which will be a first for the Mal-
tese islands. Alfred believes that Malta will continue to
improve its outlook, more so as the Government has
made a bold commitment to invest substantial money
in the infrastructure. Concurrently, it rests on every
person in Malta to pull up his socks and improve our
service in whatever field, as this will ultimately go a
long way to attracting people willing to pay more, who
will also be expecting more.
He sees this direction as ripe with opportunities -
“when I mix with clever persons I will learn some-
thing”, he says and he believes that this will be im-
portant socially and economically. Alfred is aware that
competition will follow once demand for the 6-star
hotels flourishes - however, he is not concerned by
this as he sees competition as healthy. According to
Alfred, “we are going to take a risk because I believe in
it, others will follow once there is demand”.
The story remains one of success and ambition. How-
ever, this success is not predestined but the result of
an early rise, and a tremendous amount of work. Al-
fred took a road that did not represent his original
dream, but the commitment was always there, leading
to the fruit and results.
Issue 03
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