By Simone Bandini
‘Man of the Land’ – his family is from Florence, inside the walls – but also of ‘sea’, since he had a maritime company of Charter, born one day in Capri almost by chance – Ubaldo Flamini is certainly an enterprising man with a great vision – knowing how to smell good business. It will be for the long-term experience in the world of fashion, either for its very clear vocation in interpersonal relationships – that his creature, ‘The House Master’, has become a brilliant reality in the world of tourist rentals and the management of villas, castles and prestigious rural properties.
Ubaldo Flamini has the joke ready and we feel good immediately with him. We discover that we also have friendships in common, a recurring fact when you meet half a world and deals with public relations. With him there is the pleasure of talking about beautiful things and unforgettable moments, chasing a way of seeing and facing life that, according to all of us, should never set or bow to logic of routine.
“You must never lose the taste of beauty”, begins, “while having to organize commitments, management and logistics with impeccable order and knowledge of the roles, exactly as on board, on a boat, where respect for the rules is fundamental”.
The House Master therefore deals with the sale and management of villas and farmhouses of large sizes with a high range of comforts and attached services; if a specific property has high unexpressed potential, the company can also decide to redevelop the structure with interventions from the air conditioning to the furniture up to the installation of swimming pools with wooden above ground platforms. In addition to proposing holiday periods in exclusive locations, we count some in Tuscany such as Villa Le Fonti, Castle of Casalta, Pieve San Jacopo and Villa Acquapietra – we think about how to make the stay pleasant with experiences, services and tailor-made activities such as private drivers, cooking classes with private chef, pizza party in the villa, tours to discover the territory and its history, tastings in cellars with wines accompanied by the best gastronomic produce, the wellness treatments on site and also adventures, entertainment and adrenaline with recreational and sporting activities.
Great news in the tourist rents market, The House Master represents a very valid option to put a property ‘without worries’ on the market; Calculating the real and emotional cost of managing all the administrative and practical aspects, if we add the necessary time and skills, are we really sure that the management on our own, autonomous, is the best solution? The company deals with optimizing profits by fully managing the structures, leaving the owners the right to choose the period in which to enjoy their home.
Ubaldo, as they said, grew up in the family company breathing the fashion and the metropolitan ambience of London, New York and Paris, in the business of distribution and representation of important brands such as Paul Smith, Ballantyne, Belstaff or Napapjiri. Facing the crisis of that world, in free fall for various reasons such as online sales, single -brand economic globalization and large commercial malls, in 2016 he decided to devote themselves to the market of short tourist rents which, at the beginning, represent just an ‘extension of the activity of Maritime Charter: “I had in fact a charter company together with my friend Gabriele Solfanelli who is still the administrator of the group … In Capri I happened to take trips with spaghetti cooking on board. So I started bringing friends and, from an informal thing, a real commercial activity was born! “. An art of hospitality that over time, for market contingencies and global revolutions, has moved from the coast to the countryside. A change of perspective, from boats to villas, that was born in a completely spontaneous way: “Many customers of the Charter started to spend their holidays in our properties for rent”.
“So we started buying and managing some houses and, especially in the pandemic period, we have detected some with great potential: the first in San Casciano Val di Pesa and the second in Montecatini,” he tells us. “The acquisition of these two villas” – he continues – “Our carefully organized, disciplined and specialized modus operandi, just like in the boat and typical of shipowners, allowed us in a short time to bring them to value with great satisfaction”.
Ubaldo still has a lot of fun: “I like the human relationship, meet other people, I love conviviality, that type of spontaneous confidence that grows naturally … on the boat it is said that guests are part of the crew”. In short, it is his world.
From the experience of the first two villas, The House Master receives different requests for the management and acquisition of properties from unwilling owners: second or third houses in the countryside that were not exploited and that risked to deploy, or in other cases objects for sale for a long time that needed an upgrade to be put on the market again with a better appeal.
As we enter his office, ça va sans dire, we put our eyes immediately on a phrase camping, as an archetype: “Your Home, Your Business”, to sanction the indissoluble link between existence and business that grow hand in hand , in what the Anglo-Saxons call the “Property Ladder”.
“Our type clients are ‘Charming Country House’, those houses that keep a feeling, a pathos, a story and a high level allure, from the castle to the medieval parish church and to the old farmhouse, full of intertwining and family stories that draw their architecture”, he specifies, combining the historical and aesthetic value with the functionality and comfort of present days.
For information on the management and acquisition of properties, to book holidays in the villa directly or organize events and weddings, team building or work days:
Via Empolese 227, Cerbaia (FI) / Tel. (+39) 327 1897611 / info@thehousemaster.it / www.thehousemaster.it