Born from the collaboration between Hospitality – Il Salone dell’Accoglienza and WMF – We Make Future, Italy’s leading digital innovation fair, the Hospitality Award – Inclusivity and Hospitality was created to honor hospitality projects that successfully combine accessibility, innovation, and social impact. For this inaugural edition, the award was granted to L’Insolito Posto, a social holiday home located in Saonara, in the province of Padua. The project stood out among numerous applications submitted by campsites, glampings, B&Bs, guesthouses, farm stays, hotels, and event venues.
Classified with 4-Lions – the system used by the Veneto Region to rate B&Bs – the facility is entirely free of physical and sensory barriers. Every detail is designed to ensure autonomy and dignity for all guests: voice commands, advanced home automation, Braille signage, acoustic, visual, and vibrating alerts, dual-height reception counters, and tables accessible to wheelchair users. The ultimate goal is to create a truly inclusive space.
But the value of L’Insolito Posto extends beyond architectural accessibility. The facility operates under a management model that involves the employment and training of individuals with disabilities or from socially disadvantaged backgrounds in hospitality roles. Thanks to a partnership with the Work Integration Service of the ULSS 6 Euganea Health Authority, these workers acquire skills that help them reintegrate into the mainstream job market, fostering true inclusion.
The jury – composed of Giovanna Voltolini (Exhibition Manager of Hospitality – Il Salone dell’Accoglienza), Roberto Vitali (CEO and co-founder of Village for all – V4A), and Domenico Castaldo (Innovation Manager of Search On Media Group) – awarded L’Insolito Posto for the coherence and high quality of its proposal. The project garnered broad consensus for its balance of integrated accessibility, inclusive employment, direct social impact, and strong potential for replication, setting a benchmark for truly inclusive hospitality.
“We launched this contest to drive cultural change in the HoReCa sector, promoting a more equitable, responsible, and innovative approach to hospitality,” explained Alessandra Albarelli, General Director of Riva del Garda Fierecongressi, the organizing body behind the Hospitality fair. She presented the award to Pierluigi Doná and Nelda Sanavia, respectively President and Vice President of the social cooperative Il Glicine, which runs L’Insolito Posto.
“L’Insolito Posto is a project with high social impact, contributing tangibly to accessibility not only by offering barrier-free stays, but also through an authentic model of integrated hospitality. Innovation emerges on every level – technological, managerial, and experiential – proving that it is indeed possible to create truly inclusive places. L’Insolito Posto is a best practice and perfectly embodies the spirit of our Di Ognuno initiative”.
In the opening photo: from left, Roberto Vitali, Nelda Sanavia, Pierluigi Donà, Alessandra Albarelli, Domenico Castaldo
Piscina & Wellness Barcelona 2023: from November 27 to 30 sustainability enters the swimming pool