My previous editorial on work in wine tourism (The paradox of wine tourism: when wine is both everything and nothing) sparked a discussion I had not imagined would be so wide. In the days following publication I received dozens of private messages from Hospitality Managers all over Italy, all ready to share their own experience.
Given the volume of reactions, together with the editorial team we decided to bring the discussion directly into Wine Meridian’s Hospitality Managers Club and turn it into something more structured: an anonymous questionnaire with a single open question, to collect reflections, experiences and points of view. The answers received confirm the underlying theme of the first article and add nuances worth sharing.
A job perceived as playful, never as strategic
The first element that emerges concerns the very perception of the role. One hospitality manager writes that wine tourism “is often perceived as a predominantly playful activity”, while in daily practice it requires “skills, planning and an overall vision”. Building a visit itinerary consistent with the company’s identity, selecting the right partners, calibrating the story to the audience in front of you: all of this remains invisible to those looking from outside, and is reduced to an accessory activity instead of a loyalty lever.
When results arrive, but company culture stands still
The most direct testimony comes from someone who recounts a concrete change in the company. For years wine tourism was considered “a useless waste of time”, until four years ago someone decided to entrust its management full time to a professional. The result: revenue more than doubled and guest numbers at the relais attached to the winery grew by the same measure.
Yet even in the face of the numbers, “the office still tries to denigrate the visits”. One of the owners, while officially holding the role of brand ambassador, treats the end customer as “the one who makes him waste time and wants to drink for free”. The paradox here is evident: the growth of the business comes precisely through the figure that the company continues to consider marginal.
The loneliness of those who manage hospitality alone
Another recurring theme concerns internal organization. One hospitality manager recounts having left simple guidelines for the colleagues called to replace her when her shifts overlap with guided visits, guidelines that are regularly disregarded, resulting in “chaotic and disorganized” hospitality. The request to place a second person in the shop goes unheard, and the management falls on a single person.
What remains from this first round of responses
The stories collected paint a picture of a two-speed sector. On one side, wineries that, after years of resistance, are starting to invest in figures dedicated to hospitality when the economic results speak clearly. On the other, a still high number of companies in which the value generated by hospitality struggles to translate into recognition, decision-making space and organizational support.
Key points
- Hospitality is strategic work: it requires skills, planning and an overall vision, and acts as a loyalty lever.
- A dedicated full-time professional can double revenue and guest numbers at the relais within four years.
- Recognition lags behind results: some offices keep denigrating visits even after revenue more than doubled.
- Assign a second person to the shop so hospitality managers share the workload.
- Colleagues should follow hospitality guidelines to keep the welcome organized during overlapping visits.
