There is a house in the mountains of Lake Como that was once a tavern, a building where generations of kids spent their holidays with the parish and a trullo in the Apulian countryside that, almost by chance, became the starting point of a career. Very different places, united by one thing: someone has decided to recover them, open them to travelers and transform them into a new business.
Italian hospitality does not only come from hotels, large cities of art or the most well-known tourist locations. There is also a network of small structures, often created from family properties, which allows you to reach less frequented areas and, in some cases, offers new professional opportunities.
The stories of the five winners of the Masters of Hospitality 2026the recognition awarded by Airbnb, now in its second edition. Among them there are a Sicilian pediatrician, a social worker from Lombardy, a nurse, a former designer and a boy of just 25 years old.
Hospitality in small Italian municipalities: what the numbers say
The phenomenon is part of a short-term rental market that continues to evolve. According to data released by Airbnb, between June 2025 and June 2026 the number of Italian Superhosts, i.e. hosts who satisfy certain evaluation and reliability requirements on the platform, increased by 16%.
Another element concerns the geographical distribution of the structures with the best reviews. In municipalities with less than 30 thousand inhabitants, 39% of the adverts considered in the analysis have an average rating between 4.91 and 5 stars, compared to the 33% recorded in larger centres. The comparison, drawn up by the platform on active adverts with at least ten reviews, suggests a greater relative presence of highly appreciated accommodation in smaller towns, although it does not represent an overall measure of the quality of the tourist offer.
Then there is the issue of economic repercussions. According to the Observatory on widespread tourism in Italy, created by TEHA Group in collaboration with Airbnb, in 2025 the platform’s guests in municipalities under 30 thousand inhabitants generated 346 million euros in direct spending: 143 million in catering, 100 million in purchases and 61 million in transport. The study also estimates a total value of 836 million euros of activated economic production, also considering the indirect and induced effects.
These are data that describe the economic potential of widespread tourism, but which do not exhaust the debate on short-term rentals, especially regarding the impact on the housing market, the availability of homes for residents and the sustainability of tourist flows. Issues that take on very different characteristics between a large city and a village at risk of depopulation.
From Lake Como to Sicily: the stories of those who chose to host
In Noceno, in the Muggiasca Valley, Lake Como appears very different from the image of the villas overlooking the water and the villages frequented by international tourism. At around 800 meters above sea level, among woods and paths, Innocenta, nurse by professionhas recovered the house of his ancestors, once used as a family tavern.
The structure, now called Rifugio Como Lake, began welcoming guests in 2025, attracting travelers from as far away as the United States and Indonesia. For this project Innocenta received recognition in the category Hidden treasurededicated to structures located off the most popular tourist routes.
A different story comes from Ostuni, where Fabio, 25 years old, has transformed a family trullo into a profession. Graduated in Gastronomic Sciences and with experience in catering, he had initially approached the project to help his brother in the renovation of the property.
From that experience Trullo Luceri was born, which in its first year of activity welcomed hundreds of international travellers, reaching a five-star rating on the platform. Fabio was awarded as Best up-and-coming hosta category introduced in the 2026 edition.
«At 25 you don’t always know which path to take. Becoming a host helped me find mine,” he says. A story that shows how managing a hospitality facility can become a career path even for those who do not traditionally come from the hotel sector.
In Cefalù, however, Antonio began hosting travelers at eighteen to support his medical studies. The first structure was the grandparents’ house, inside an eighteenth-century building near the Cathedral, now part of the site recognized by UNESCO.
More than ten years later, Antonio became a pediatrician, but also continued to dedicate himself to hospitality. His way of welcoming guests is through small gestures linked to local culture, from arancina to Sicilian ice cream, up to aperitifs on the terrace. He received recognition forExceptional hospitality.
The second lives of buildings: from the sixteenth century farmhouse to the nuns’ house
The recovery of real estate assets is another element that some of the awarded experiences have in common.
In Chianti, in San Casciano in Val di Pesa, Beatrice, a former designer, has transformed a 16th century farmhouse into a structure intended for families and groups of friends. Vichiaccio Country House can accommodate up to eleven people and has common areas, a large kitchen with fireplace, children’s areas and a hydromassage tub. An entire floor is also accessible to people with disabilities.
Beatrice has been running the business for fourteen years and has received recognition for the Best accommodation for families and groups. In his case, hospitality also represented a change of life: after years spent travelling, he chose to work permanently in Tuscany, welcoming visitors from other countries.
In Sueglio, a small municipality in Valvarrone, in Lombardy, the project Claudia, social workerwas born instead from the desire to recover a place linked to one’s adolescence.
The building was a nuns’ house, used for summer stays for the children of the parish. Together with her partner Valentina, Claudia transformed it into the Casa di Sueglio, a structure with eight rooms that can also be booked individually, shared spaces and rates designed to remain accessible.
Recognition for the Best quality-price accommodation it therefore goes to a reality that focuses on a different formula from that of the traditional holiday home, with particular attention to young travellers.
The future of tourism also passes through lesser-known territories
The five experiences do not necessarily represent the prevailing model of short-term rentals in Italy, nor do they allow us to draw conclusions about the entire sector: they are cases selected and rewarded by the same platform that hosts them. However, they allow us to observe some interesting changes.
On the one hand there are buildings recovered and brought back to an economic and social function; on the other, professionals who combine their main activity with the management of accommodation, or young people who choose to build a job in tourism without going through traditional hotel structures.
The question of the balance between economic opportunities and the needs of resident communities remains central. Because the growth of tourism in small towns can help support commercial activities and services, but it also requires careful management of resources and territory.
It is precisely in this difference between a simple increase in attendance and local development that an important part of the future of Italian hospitality is played out. Not only in the ability to attract new visitors, but in ensuring that their arrival also represents an opportunity for the places and the people who continue to inhabit them.
