From the Hassler to the Terme di Saturnia: who receives the funds for staff accommodation

These include the Terme di Saturnia, the luxury resort Stroblhof on Lake Garda, the W Hotel in Poltu Quatu (Arzachena) and the Resort Le Saline Palau. But also the Hassler Hotel in Rome, one of the capital’s most prestigious hotels. These are the names that feature amongst the beneficiaries of the incentive scheme for companies in the tourism sector, which covers staff accommodation costs: a scheme promoted by the Ministry of Tourism and managed by Invitalia, which is allocating 120 million euros over the three-year period 2025–2027 with the aim of creating 63,000 beds. With the publication of the decrees on 6 October, the list of beneficiary companies has now reached 146.

“Staff House is the first comprehensive housing scheme dedicated to tourism” and a “response to one of the sector’s most pressing needs: finding suitable and sustainable accommodation for workers in the areas where they are employed. “It is a structural measure that improves quality of life, strengthens businesses’ ability to attract staff and makes the entire tourism sector more competitive,” comments the Minister for Tourism Gianmarco Mazzi.

The “Staff House” scheme is divided into two strands. The first is a non-repayable grant (capital grant) aimed at businesses wishing to refurbish, modernise or complete accommodation to be provided to their employees on favourable terms. The project must involve total expenditure of between 500,000 and 5 million euros and ensure the availability of at least 10 beds to be used exclusively as accommodation for employees for a minimum period of 9 years. The maximum amount that can be granted is 4 million.

For 2025, 14.23 million euros have been allocated to 26 organisations that applied for funding. The largest sum (1.5 million) went to a small company, ‘In tavola’, which manages the catering and bar services at the Camping Village Marina di Venezia, one of the largest and most popular campsites in Europe. Felco Divisione turistica, whose main business revolves around the Le Saline Palau Resort, received 1.018 million euros. Just under a million (908,000 euros) was awarded to Salso Maggiore Terme Resort, and 863,000 euros went to the Hotel Lamm, owned by Steiner & Co., the management company of the Hotel Tuberis in Tubre (Taufers im Münstertal), in the province of Bolzano.

The second strand of the Staff House incentive scheme consists of ongoing grants to cover the costs incurred by tourism businesses in renting and providing accommodation for their employees (both seasonal and permanent staff). The scheme provides for a maximum grant of up to three thousand euros per year for each bed created, with financial support guaranteed for a period of between 5 and 10 years.