The Vitha Group is to open Gioia Hotel, its second hotel on Lampedusa. The Abruzzo-based company specializing in wellness products will in fact open a second property - following the Calandra Resort  - on the island this 16 June.

Exploring the coast on a local gulet 

The Gioia Hotel will also feature a rooftop terrace where breakfast will be served ana which will also be the perfect place for enjoying sunsets over the harbour, as well as an ideal spot for aperitifs. Guests will have the exclusive use of a local gulet craft on which to spend the day exploring the island's most beautiful coves. On board they will be able to taste Lampedusa specialties and the catch of the day.

The Una Group is pushing its F&B offer with directly-managed restaurants in the hotels in its collection.

Three new Una Cucina restaurants in Bologna

The latest new additions are three restaurants in Bologna: the Portico Bar & Restaurant by Una Cucina, in the Unahotels Bologna Centro; the Bolognese Bar & Restaurant by Una Cucina in the Unahotels Bologna Fiera, and the Fuori Porta Bar & Restaurant by Una Cucina in the Unahotels San Vitale Bologna. These join two other recent additions in the Milan area: the Hall Bar & Restaurant by Una Cucina in the Unahotels Century Milano and the Corte Bistrot Bar & Restaurant by Una Cucina in the Unahotels The One Milano.

“We are the largest hotel chain in Italy” 

"The addition of five new restaurants to our Una Cucina collection is an important milestone, the result of a journey that began in 2021, with the aim of conquering an increasingly important space in the restaurant business by directly controlling management," comments Fabrizio Gaggio, general manager of the Una Group. “We are very proud to be among the leading restaurant chains in Italy, adding to our position as the largest Italian hotel chain (by number of hotels, Ed.). The Una Cucina restaurant concept is based on regional inspirations and is oriented towards high quality: a tailor-made service increasingly attentive to the individual needs of guests, with authentic food and wine experiences enhanced by special initiatives organized in our facilities throughout the year."

The Human Company launches the new hu brand and has reopened its nine villages in Italy and its Luxembourg village, all of which will be fully operational by 28 May.

The Florentine company is consolidating its new hu open-air brand as well as investing €20 million on the renovation, maintenance and increase in services within its properties (f&b, swimming pools and lagoons, playgrounds, common areas, market, shop, experiences. etc) and on updating its fleet of mobile homes.

Digitalized bookings and a new website

The new hu brand was created with a dual purpose: to retell the story of the ecosystem of the ten hu open-air villages in Italy and in the heart of Europe and at the same time to target new markets. Human Company has also given further impetus to the process of digitalizing bookings and accommodation. In addition to the new huopenair.com website dedicated to the group's villages and campsites there will also be a new web app for summer 2022, ensuring that all services and offers of the hu open-air facilities are always just a click away.

More Italians are opting for open-air holidays

“Despite the uncertainties of the current macroeconomic situation, we are seeing encouraging signs in terms of bookings, with a high occupancy rate in the high season and rising levels in the shoulder months," commented Domenico Montano, General Manager of Human Company. "Foreign markets are the most affected by the international scenario but domestic market volumes continue to grow strongly. More and more Italian guests have found the open-air experience to be a new way of experiencing a quality, made-to-measure Italian holiday".

It’s no secret that in this part of the hospitality world the pandemic has driven large numbers of people away from tourism. Let’s face it, hospitality has not always attracted top talent, but the crisis has highlighted, not that it was needed, the fragility of an industry that has always been at the mercy of too many factors beyond its control.

So now, just as we are starting to see signs of a longed-for recovery, we find the raw material is missing. Those people who provide not only adequate service and skills, but all the warmth of true hospitality, which is at the very core of travel. The numbers are alarming. According to the Italian hoteliers’ association Federalberghi, in addition to the shortage of seasonal workers, the sector is having to cope with the diaspora of more than 20% of its permanent staff. Luckily there are those who are looking for alternatives, like Nardo Filippetti, president of the Lindbergh Group, who has just announced the Homie project for unstaffed (or practically unstaffed) hotels. They say they will be able to offer affordable luxury at an average €55 per night.

But perhaps the real solution lies elsewhere. In South Tyrol, which is one of Italy's most popular snow destinations, quite a few hotels remained closed this winter despite the upturn in demand. This was due to staff shortages, and some major Italian hotel groups have pointed out to me that the properties that did not reopen were known for their lack of staff empathy. I can’t help thinking this is the key, and it’s not rocket science: manage and optimize your staff better and you will find yourself with a more competent, more enthusiastic and, above all, more loyal team!

Massimiliano Sarti
Journalist

The hotel Le Ginestre has changed hands, having been snapped up by Slhre Fin 1, headed by Giuseppe Statuto, a real estate developer who already owns the Danieli in Venice, as well as the Mandarin in Milan and two Four Seasons: one in Milan and the San Domenico Palace in Taormina.

Competing with Qatar-based Smeralda Holding

The sale of the Le Ginestre puts an end to the ambitions of Enrico Meneghetti. The Italian-Swiss London based financier had announced his intention to bring the two brands Delano and Rosewood to the Costa Smeralda to compete with historic properties belonging to the Qatar-based Smeralda Holding, a €150 million operation that included the acquisition of the Ginestre, as well as the Palme di Liscia di Vacca. 

The Liscia di Vacca to reopen in summer 2024

Le Palme was sold shortly before Christmas 2021 to the international investment company Sixth Street, which boasts a portfolio of assets worth $60 billion including shares in Airbnb, Spotify and the San Antonio Spurs. The Liscia di Vacca hotel should reopen in summer 2024 after its planned renovation. However, it is not yet known under which brands the two hotels will operate in the future.

Japan still off limits? No worries, just take one of the Metaverse itineraries for small groups; three-day trips lasting an hour and a half each, with a Sushi & Ramen box and a tea ceremony thrown in. This was the press release our office got from an Italian online operator on 1 April. His first hi-tech virtual travel proposal. While a digital tour might or might not excite you, it was certainly a cute idea. A feasible but not particularly futuristic one, as many major hotels have shown over the last two pandemic years with home deliveries, and remote cooking classes with boxes of ingredients sent to your place of residence.

So all’s good then? Well not quite, because the Metaverse tour of Japan was actually fake news. An April Fool's joke, explained a note the following day. Funny? Well in part yes, it even raised a laugh here, and we fell for the hoax, publishing it and adding that real journeys are much better, because those in the Metaverse are not in our DNA. 

Yet something doesn’t quite add up. The problem in this case is that to get something published the authors of the April Fool's joke broke the trust that binds communicators and journalists. Nothing irreparable of course, but the doubt will be there when we receive their next media release. And the same law applies to promises in tourism: if you communicate something to a potential client, you have to keep your word. Do you invite guests to a special molecular cuisine evening and then tell them it's all a joke because a good old traditional dinner is a lot nicer?  It might even be true, it's not our job to judge. But I still don't think it's a good idea. Not even as a provocation. Not even on April Fool’s Day....

Massimiliano Sarti
Journalist

The Masseria Poesia in the Itria Valley, between the Gargano and Salento regions in Apulia, has five delightful independent residences from which to discover the magic of this stunning region. Each unit is totally independent and fully equipped and can accommodate from two to four guests.  

Near the famous cone-shaped trulli houses 

The Masseria Poesia, which is an ode to the beauty of the Itria Velley, is between the Gargano and Salento regions, which is famous for its cone-shaped trulli houses. Chiara and Jack - she is originally from Trento, he is Dutch - fell in love with the area some years ago and created this charming holiday retreat in harmony with the surrounding countryside. In Cisternino, one of the 100 most beautiful small towns in Italy, it is a very short distance from Ostuni, the famous white city, from Alberobello, known worldwide for its characteristic trulli, and from the charming old towns of Locorotondo and Martina Franca. 

The five independent residences are fully equipped

Just 15 kilometres from the sea at Torre Canne, and about 30 kilometres from the wonderful Torre Guaceto Nature Reserve, the five residences - yellow, blue, white, green and red - are part of the same complex but totally independent. They can accommodate from two - the romantic red trullo - to four people comfortably and each has a well-equipped kitchen, a washing machine and a dishwasher. 

Ideal for families and groups of friends

Masseria Poesia's swimming pool, located in a dominant position, is available for guests to relax while admiring the Itria Valley and has views over the Adriatic and Ionian Seas. In the evening there are many excellent local restaurants in the vicinity and in little towns by the sea, or you can stay at home and enjoy something tasty like the fornello pronto meats that are cooked on the grill in local butchers’ shops.  The days are filled with activities including cycling, horse riding and walking, or with pampering massages which can be arranged at Masseria Poesia on request. The property can also be booked in its entirety, with ample space for families, or groups of friends.

The QC Terme’s group's new and long-awaited Qcny New York finally opens.

"It may have seemed like nothing more than a classic American dream at the time but now, nearly 25 years after our birth, we are at a critical juncture in our journey. Avenues open up from here that will lead us not only to grow and develop in North America, but also in Italy and other parts of Europe." Saverio Quadrio Curzio, president and co-founder of Qc Terme with his brother Andrea, comments on the opening of Qcny on Governors Island.

"That our first North American opening is seen by many New Yorkers as one of the novelties of the post-pandemic rebirth of the metropolis makes us proud: first of all as an Italian company operating in the field of well-being and self-care, and then because we see the whole Qcny experience as a sort triumph of Italianness, conceived and created by our art director Alessandro Bolis,” adds CEO Andrea Quadrio Curzio.

Soon opening on Lake Garda and in Salsomaggiore

At Qcny guests are transported into an oasis of relaxing practises and wellness programmes, with all-Italian design and quality, just minutes from Manhattan but removed from the frenetic and hyper-connected chaos of the city.

“Qcny is a fundamental step for Qc Terme, a starting point and not just a point of arrival,” declares Francesco Varni, CEO for development and corporate affairs. “Palazzo Arzaga sul Garda and the Terme Berzieri di Salsomaggiore will be the next developments in Italy, while in France, given the excellent results in Chamonix-Mont-Blanc, there is great interest in the development of QC Terme in Île-de-France and in the Cote d'Azur - Provence. The balance sheet for 2021 suffered from the months of forced closure to which the pandemic forced us, but the results were better than expected and this gave is us great confidence and optimism.”

Properties in Italy, France and New York

Qc Terme was founded in 1998 and continues to attract the attention of markets and investors, as it did in 2017 when the White Bridge Investment fund joined the team. The group manages wellness centres, spas, charming resorts, and design hotels in Bormio, Pré Saint Didier, Milan, Turin, Rome, San Pellegrino Terme, the Dolomites, Chamonix-Mont-Blanc, and now also in New York City.