John Voigtmann has done what so many have dreamed of: he chucked a high flying New York job and moved to the Tuscan countryside. Previously, John was Vice President of International Marketing for Sony Music, coordinating global marketing and promotion campaigns for Maroon 5, Foo Fighters, and Kings of Leon. But after an old ruined farmhouse in Tuscany’s Val D’Orcia region caught his eye, he moved to Italy to restore the property and in 2007 opened La Bandita, an acclaimed 8 room country resort with a striking modern design and breath-taking setting. In 2013, he also opened La Bandita Townhouse, a stylish 12 room boutique hotel in a historic property inside the UNESCO Heritage village of Pienza.

Whether music or hospitality, John’s strength has always been in strong relationships, and balancing passion and vision with a keen eye for practical solutions.

In his career as a record label manager, John excelled at the difficult task of bringing together powerful music executives and headstrong recording stars to not only create a practical global plan for album release and promotion but also executing that plan on a daily basis. With a string of successful multi-platinum album launches, John became the global diplomat for RCA records, cool-headedly juggling big-time egos, expansive creative visions, and cultural peculiarities in a fast-moving, dynamic and global context.

These same skills played in the success of John’s second career in Tuscany.

It’s one thing to dream about living on a Tuscan hillside, but John managed to wade through a sea of overlapping historic preservation regulations and opaque bureaucratic obstacles to create a successful business in a high-cost, highly-regulated, innovation-starved context. More importantly, he created a strong travel brand recognized by a community of insiders all around the world. John’s strong global relationships bring a steady stream of key global influencers in media, technology and culture to Tuscany each year.

Now 10 years in, La Bandita continues to deliver John’s personal vision of hospitality: bold design mixed with a relaxed and friendly atmosphere delivered by a young highly passionate staff that makes you feel like you’re staying at a stylish home, not a hotel. John is visible both on site, directly entertaining guests, but also behind the scenes where he continues to personally manage a staff of 25 with few changes over the last 10 years.

Along the way, John continues to help turn vision into reality. From 2008-2012, he worked with investors to refine the plans and oversee the renovation for the development of a new resort: Monteverdi Tuscany resort with 15 guest rooms, a gourmet restaurant, performance space and 3 stand alone villas in a historic small abandoned village. In 2014 he began work as a consultant to The Vines of Mendoza, an innovative wine producer and resort in Argentina, that produces small batch custom made wine for over 100 individual investors. Together with the original partners, John is in development stages of bringing the concept to Tuscany.

John’s unusual upbringing, in a small international community in Taipei, Taiwan played a major role in the development of his unique skill set as a diplomat, problem fixer, and global visionary. Raised in Taipei, John has studied in the UK (Cambridge University) and New York (Columbia University), lived in Europe for over 11 years, and lived in China briefly in the 90’s giving him a valuable insight in that region. John received a BA in English and an MA in Chinese Literature from Columbia University. He has travelled extensively and has lived in Asia, US, and Europe.

John can be contacted at:

FB: www.facebook.com/john.voigtmann

Instagram: johnvoigtmann

Email: johnvoigtmann@mac.comWebsite: www.la-bandita.com