Hospitality Net to Launch HospITALY at BTO 2026, Bringing Together 60 Leading Voices in Italian Hospitality

FLORENCE, ITALY - Hospitality Net will officially launch HospITALY, its Italy-focused edition dedicated to the Italian hospitality market, at BTO 2026 in Florence. The announcement will take place during “Humans-as-Luxury,” a session presented by Simone Puorto on 11 November, from 12:00 to 12:50, in Hall #5 Turespaña.

Bringing together over 60 founding experts in hotel management, revenue management, distribution, technology, marketing, education, human resources, and strategic consulting, HospITALY aims to create a shared, independent space for some of the industry's most experienced and influential voices.

The initiative addresses a longstanding challenge in Italian hospitality: a wealth of professional knowledge remains fragmented across individual networks, company websites, conferences, LinkedIn discussions, and personal publications.

Rather than adding another channel to an already crowded information landscape, HospITALY seeks to bring these perspectives together in a single editorial environment, encouraging discussion, disagreement, and the exchange of practical experience.

Developed and moderated by Simone Puorto, Head of Emerging Trends & Strategic Innovation at Hospitality Net, the initiative adopts Hospitality Net's established World Panel format. Each discussion begins with a shared question, to which participating experts contribute their individual perspectives, drawing on their professional experience and expertise.

The underlying principle is editorial independence: creating a space where different, sometimes competing, viewpoints can coexist without requiring contributors to reach a predetermined consensus.

Giving Italian hospitality a shared voice

For me, Italy has never really had the shared, independent space our hospitality professionals deserve, somewhere we can come together and genuinely talk to one another.

That is a tremendous missed opportunity, because we have extraordinary voices in this industry, yet too many remain confined to their own circles. To learn from people who truly know their subject, you have to follow one person on LinkedIn, another on a personal blog and someone else through a company website. The knowledge is there, but it is fragmented.

With HospITALY, I want to bring those voices together in one place, where their ideas can meet, challenge one another and become part of a wider conversation. That is what the name expresses: hospitality + Italy, brought together. The ambition is to give Italian hospitality a shared voice while preserving the differences that make it worth listening to.

Simone Puorto, founder and moderator of HospITALY

Over 60 founding experts, one shared conversation

The first group of HospITALY contributors reflects the diversity of the Italian hospitality ecosystem, combining the perspectives of independent hoteliers, senior executives, technology entrepreneurs, consultants, educators and industry specialists.

Among the founding experts are:

• Agostino Scialfa, CEO, Hotel Cosmopolitan Bologna

• Alberto Nick Lavorgna, Cluster Hotel Manager, Lignano Hotels

• Alberto Presutti, Maestro di Bon Ton e Galteo nell'Ospitalità, Codice Ospite

• Alberto Recanatesi

• Alberto Viola

• Aldo Polledro, Founder, Kataspendo

• Alessio Re, Fondatore, Klartika

• Andrea Palmoso, Managing Director, Next Level Hospitality

• Andrea Spalletti Trivelli, Proprietario, Villa Spalletti Trivelli

• Antonio Maresca, Hospitality Digital Coach, Onspitality

• Antonio Picozzi, CEO & co-Founder @ dAirect, dAirect

• Armando Travaglini, Consulente e formatore Digital Marketing Turistico, Digital Marketing Turistico

• Bruno Castella, Business Development & appassionato di golf, dAirect

• Bruno Saragat, Responsabile Senior della Commercializzazione, Planet

• Bruno Strati, Head of Sales & Co-Founder, Brainy RMS

• Carlo Fontana, Direttore Generale, LuganoDante

• Claudia Ferrero, Fondatrice di Horeca Job, coautrice del libro Work In Travel, Horeca Job

• Concetta D'Emma

• Cristina Pagani

• Damiano Zennaro, Senior Advisor e Fondatore, DZ Consulting

• Daniel Franchi, Chief Operating Officer, My Suite Hotel

• Daniela Di Maio, Consulente di Revenue Management, Sales & Distribution, RevenueHub

• Danilo Bellomo, CEO Good Vibes Hospitality Training, Good Vibes Hospitality Training

• Davide Bernasconi, Co-fondatore & COO, Hoxell

• Domenico De Vanna, Amministratore Unico, DDV Business Management

• Domenico Palladino, Direttore responsabile, QualityTravel

• Edoardo Ridolfi, Direttore Marketing, Slope

• Eleonora Luppi, Revenue Manager | Hotel Manager, A Matter of Revenue

• Emanuele Mansueti

• Emiliano Viola, Company Business Developer & Board Member, Franco Grasso

• Emilio Zorini

• Fabio Badolato, Amministratore Unico di GT Revenue Srl, GT Revenue Srl

• Fabrizio Zezza, CEO, HotelNerds

• Federica Salvatori, Consulente strategica, Formatrice, CEO, Federica Salvatori Consulting

• Filippo Fasolo

• Giulia Eremita

• Irene Zambusi

• Jacopo Longhi, Managing Partner, consulente e docente, Next Level Hospitality

• Lorenzo Saliu, Co-fondatore e Amministratore Delegato, SEDPLUS

• Luca Vescovi, Ricerca e sviluppo, Jampaa

• Marcello Carfora, CCOO, Lybra Tech

• Marco Di Prima, CEO, HOTELCUBE

• Marco Matarazzi, CEO Slope, Slope

• Massimiliano Montanari

• Matteo De Santis, Chief Operating Officer, Positioner

• Maurizio D'Atri, Consulente, Appia Antica Resort

• Michela Mola, CEO & Managing Director, Singer Palace Hotel

• Mirko Lalli, Investor & Senior Advisor, Rankwit.ai

• Nicola Seghi, Evangelist, QNT / Simple Booking

• Nicoletta Polliotto, Food Marketer, brand strategist, autrice, speaker, direttore editoriale, Muse Comunicazione

• Palmiro Noschese

• Paola Olivari

• Paola Puzzovio, Founder, TEGing

• Piergiorgio Schirru

• Pietro Monti

• Pietro Tommasi, Direttore Revenue Management, PriceUp

• Riccardo Cocco

• Roberto Necci, Chairman, Roberto Necci

• Sabato Colella, Admin of "Receptionist del Mondo", Freelance

• Stefano Montagna

• Stefano Sciamanna, Senior Revenue Manager, Lybra Tech

• Stefano Tiribocchi

• Stefano Todisco

• Tomas Ciampi, Account Manager, QNT / Simple Booking

• Vinicio Borsi

• Vito D’Amico, CEO, Myforecast RMS | SICANIASC

They are joined by dozens of additional contributors spanning operational management, commercial strategy, artificial intelligence, guest experience, distribution, education and hospitality technology.

The founding group's diversity is intentional. HospITALY is not designed as a forum for a single professional category or technological agenda, but as a meeting point for the different disciplines that collectively shape hospitality.

Puorto has personally selected the founding contributors for their expertise, professional experience and ability to bring distinct perspectives to the discussion. He will develop and moderate the questions, while participants will contribute their views, suggest future topics, and engage with their peers' experiences.

Beyond agreement: the value of constructive disagreement

At the heart of HospITALY is the conviction that meaningful progress requires more than repeating established ideas.

The panel's editorial approach encourages participants to question conventional wisdom, acknowledge uncomfortable facts and examine competing interpretations of the same industry challenges.

This is particularly relevant as hospitality undergoes rapid transformation driven by artificial intelligence, automation, changing guest expectations, evolving workforce dynamics, and new distribution models.

For example, a discussion about AI should not be limited to technology providers. It should also involve general managers, hoteliers, educators, revenue specialists and professionals whose everyday work is directly affected by technological change.

By bringing these perspectives together, HospITALY aims to move beyond isolated opinions towards a more informed understanding of the opportunities, risks and practical consequences facing the sector.

Connecting knowledge, experience and collective progress

A shared platform can also become a place where we build a common path.

It should not simply be about exchanging opinions, but about examining honestly what we have achieved, what we are doing today and what still needs to be done. Meaningful progress begins when different experiences become part of a collective conversation. The relationship between hospitality and technology is another area where greater collaboration could prove particularly valuable.

Palmiro Noschese, Strategic Advisor in Luxury Hospitality

Nicola Seghi, International Sales Manager at Zucchetti Hospitality, highlights the need to strengthen connections between the hospitality industry and its technology ecosystem, especially as artificial intelligence becomes increasingly integrated into business operations.

We need a forum where the Italian hospitality industry and the technology sector can confront the development of artificial intelligence in a consistent and coordinated way, turning its potential into tangible benefits for our national business ecosystem.

The first step is to discuss openly both the opportunities and the threats we are facing. This transformation is already underway, and the need for a shared understanding has become both necessary and urgent.

Nicola Seghi, International Sales Manager at Zucchetti Hospitality

These perspectives reflect HospITALY's broader ambition: encouraging professionals to move beyond immediate commercial or operational concerns and contribute to a more comprehensive discussion of the industry's future.

A sector of national economic importance

The launch comes at a time when travel and tourism continue to play a fundamental role in Italy's economy.

According to the World Travel & Tourism Council's 2025 Economic Impact Research, travel and tourism were projected to contribute €237.4 billion to the Italian economy in 2025, representing nearly 11% of national GDP, while supporting approximately 3.2 million jobs.

These figures underline not only the sector's economic significance, but also the importance of ensuring that knowledge, expertise, and innovation circulate effectively among its professionals.

Travel and tourism's total contribution represents more than 10% of Italy's GDP, which makes the quality of the sector's knowledge and collaboration a matter of national importance. Our objective with HospITALY is to bring specialists together, make their expertise more accessible and help an already exceptional hospitality industry become even stronger. By connecting Italian experience with Hospitality Net's international platform, we want to support better conversations, better decisions and shared progress.

Henri Roelings, Founder - Hospitality Net

Through Hospitality Net's international editorial infrastructure, contributors will also benefit from individual expert profiles and greater visibility within the global hospitality community.

Although panel discussions will be published in Italian, the initiative will connect Italy's professional expertise to an established international knowledge platform, offering opportunities for broader recognition and cross-market exchange.

From Humans-as-Luxury to a more human conversation

The decision to launch HospITALY during “Humans-as-Luxury” provides a fitting introduction to the initiative.

Puorto's session examines an emerging paradox in hospitality: as artificial intelligence, digital workers, and automated systems become increasingly capable of tasks once reserved for humans, authentic human presence, relationships, and recognition may become more valuable than ever.

Drawing on philosophy, psychology, artificial intelligence, and hospitality practice, the presentation asks what happens when human involvement is no longer a technological necessity but a deliberate choice.

HospITALY extends this reflection from the individual guest experience to the broader professional community.

Where Humans-as-Luxury examines the value of human relationships in an increasingly automated industry, HospITALY seeks to demonstrate that value through a living community of professionals willing to share knowledge, challenge one another and learn together.

The 11 November launch marks the start of an ongoing conversation, not a one-time event.

With over 60 founding contributors and a programme of regularly published discussions, HospITALY aims to become a lasting reference point for professionals seeking to understand, question and actively shape the future of Italian hospitality.