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fr I am Stefano Carli and I have been a hotelier, the son of hoteliers, since 1966. The family business is the Hotel Vecchia Rimini in Lido degli Estensi; dad passed away in 2018, mom physically detached from work, and so now I have the honor and the burden of carrying on the name, the business, and all that goes with it.
My destiny was already sealed; I always saw myself in here. I gave up the classic permanent position in the bank precisely to devote myself to the family business, which at that time also included the restaurant business: at that time we had a very renowned restaurant in addition to the hotel business, and we were able to give a truly all-round hospitality service.
Back then tourism worked differently: planning was complete even before Easter; usually by the Epiphany we were already receiving most of the reservations, then by Easter almost the entire hotel was filled and there were just those two or three little holes left for those who came by occasionally. It was a different kind of vacation, families sweated it out all year round on the long, 15-day vacation. And when you couldn't afford the 15-day vacation you would tiptoe into the lobby and ask, "but can you even do just one week here?"
Today everything is different-the best estimate is the one we make from August 14 to 15! - and only a fool could do this work if not moved by an immense passion. The satisfactions have been truly many over the years, hard to choose one anecdote in particular. The thing I appreciate the most, which I live right from my heart, is when I see the children of our clients coming here on vacation with their children; a generational transition not only on the part of the operator-we managers taking over our parents' business-but also on the part of the clients. A few days ago, I was visited by a girl with whom I used to play here as a child - she is a few years younger than me - and she came to show her husband and children the hotel in which she used to spend her vacation with her family. They are from Como and had been missing from the Lido for about 25-26 years; she came for a touch-and-go, did not stay here, but wanted to come back and visit.
Just as sadly, when any of our long-time guests pass away, it is a heartbreak for me. I spent my childhood with many of them. For example, I remember Mr. Giacomini, who had happened to be here by accident, - we had a small guesthouse then - with all his politeness and kindness. He was a gigantic big man, almost intimidating to be around, but he was as good as gold; he had run away from Riccione or Cesenatico-I don't remember-because he was not comfortable there. He was determined to go home, then casually slipped down the little road that led to Lido degli Estensi, which was then little more than a handful of scattered cottages with a few businesses, and came here to us: he did not leave us again for 38 years. Every year he would say to me, "I remember when I used to hold you on my lap you were big cos!" - mimicking how small I was - and I, as a now grown-up, would reply, "Do you want to try now to hold me up that I'm 90 kg?" One day Giacomini himself called me in tears, "Stefano, I just can't make it this year because my son is going on vacation, my daughter has already left and I wanted to come to you but I don't know how to get there!" I immediately "I'll pick you up! When do you want to come?" and he "Tomorrow!", "Here, tomorrow morning I'll pick you up!" He lived in the province of Mantua, I picked him up then it was his children who brought him home after their vacation!
Today the relationship with tourists is not the same, everything is a bit more virtual. I count that something human has remained even in the age of the Internet because from time to time someone points out to me that the reviews our hotel receives, although it is certainly not the nicest in the area, all have a human connotation: rather than emphasizing the glitz of the furnishings-we have decent but old-fashioned furnishings, they are already overage! - they highlight friendliness and our helpfulness. We are pleased even though once upon a time you would ask your neighbor, your co-worker, the mailman for advice on where to go on vacation and you would trust what this person said if they recommended a place or location... now you trust the comments of people you don't even know.
I really went out of my way to carve out a space within the family business, which was much easier then because we had a lot fewer rooms. I was trying to work hard to be useful to the cause to the point where I asked my father if I could go for an experience outside the home; I was 14-13 years old - back then even the employer could make some headshots about age. During the Easter vacations, my schoolmates would spasmodically look for a little place where they could go to do a little work, so they could put aside a little something and take a few whims; those who wanted the moped had to prove they were responsible! I would always hear "you lucky you don't have to go crazy to find a little job since you have the family business," and I felt guilty, so I decided I wanted to make do. The search was not easy at all because in the village they knew who I was and they didn't understand why I wanted to work somewhere else. I wanted to have this experience so badly that I finally found, in a pizzeria-I needed to take this step to feel ready for family work. At the end of that experience I definitely started working in hotels and from there it was all continuous: I always work when others are having fun!
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