History of the Color Holiday group: fun on the Romagna Riviera!

Color Holiday

THE MOST FUN AND COLORFUL GROUP FOR YOUR BEACH HOLIDAYS IN THE LEGENDARY ROMAGNA RIVERA!

Gianluca Scialfa's hotel career began at an early age in the family guesthouse in Cesenatico, where from his earliest years, he savoured and breathed in that innate capacity for hospitality that has always characterised tourism on the Riviera, making it a unique model. His path, characterized by an early managerial inclination in the hotel industry, led him, at the age of fourteen, to Germany where he found employment as a bartender. This experience, in addition to increasing his technical and professional skills in the beverage sector and his language skills, allowed him to observe a broader hotel management, compared to what was the typical family-type management present in Romagna. So, he leaves for Paris, where he will find work in a 5-star hotel, as a waiter.

This new adventure, in addition to implementing his knowledge of the French language, will allow him to learn the most advanced techniques of the dining room service as well as the management of the all-round catering service. But he does not forget his Romagna, a land deeply loved and to which he feels inextricably linked and, in the summer, he continues to work in the family guesthouse in Cesenatico. His passion for the world of hospitality, his experiences abroad which have allowed him to acquire highly technical and specialized skills, and the need to deal with increasingly complex business realities pushed him, at the age of eighteen, to leave the family guesthouse to continue his work experience at other hotels on the Romagna Riviera.

"A vacation by Color Holiday is designed for families.
All day, every day, all inclusive!"

Gianluca Scialfa

FOUNDER OF THE COLOR HOLIDAY GROUP

1990

These experiences completed his professional profile and in 1990, at the age of twenty-five, he began his career as a hotelier with the opening of his first hotel.

1995

As a great connoisseur of the global tourism market and always attentive to innovations, he was the first hotelier in 1995 to introduce the "All-Inclusive" service on the Riviera Romagnola.

2004

In 2004, he founded Blu Lido Hotels together with his faithful friend Emilio Montaguti, who, thanks to years of experience as hotel manager among the best foreign tourist villages and as artistic director on cruise ships, contributed significantly to the creation of the "value" of the company, bringing with him all the expertise of the entertainment and show business. The new company started to manage Hotel San Pietro**** in Cesenatico and purchased three small hotels and a 6000 m² park next to them. The block was transformed into the Metropolitan Village of Cesenatico, thus introducing a new element of innovation on the Riviera Romagnola, namely a holiday village, a type of structure and management hitherto the prerogative of only Italian and foreign tour operators. The Metropolitan Village was, and still is today distinguished by a very precise management choice, that is to say, to enhance the foremost "value" of all Italians, i.e. the family. Thus, children become the most important factor for Blu Lido, around which all the services were developed, aimed at ensuring the happiness of the little guests and consequently their mothers.

2009

Five years later, the company acquired the Hotel Mokambo in Cesenatico and completely rebuilt it with a design that reflects a modern and dynamic society where it is easy to identify architectural elements of international influence from which Gianluca was inspired. Looking at the Mokambo, the mind cannot help but wander to Miami! The management of Mokambo was entrusted to Shore Hotels, a company created by Gianluca together with his long-time secretary Susanne Erculei. Susanne's career began in 1990 as Gianluca's secretary before she became executive director of two hotels managed by Scialfa in 1996. Over the years, Susanne has turned her attention and expertise not only to hotel management, but also to personnel management. She is personally responsible for the recruting and training of all the staff working at Shore Hotels, with the aim of creating an excellent company organisation without ever neglecting the development of the people who work in it, the real added value of every company. Over the years, the two companies have always continued to investigate and observe the tourism market and its dynamics. A world that is subject to constant evolution and changes, especially with the advent of new web technologies that have transformed not only the way people choose and buy, but also their lifestyle.

2016

In 2016, in order to respond as much as possible to the various needs of its guests, Color Holiday was founded, which incorporates the management of all the hotels of the Blu Lido Group and Shore Hotels with over 200,000 guests, 550 rooms and 300 employees. Today Color Holiday offers different types of holiday offers:

Hotel
Family Hotel
Family Village

The story continues, we will continue to write it together every summer!

2018

In 2018, the group consolidates the brand with new acquisitions and focuses more and more on family tourism.
The hotels and villages increase in number and become 7, with the entry of a brand-new accommodation in Cesenatico: the Color Green Village. The group boasts more than 650 rooms, the number of employees increases and guest satisfaction is constantly rising.
COCO, the OFFICIAL mascot of the group, is born.

2020

The group is among the leaders in family vacations in Italy.
All accommodations receive prestigious customer satisfaction awards from the most respected review websites.
The Color Metropolitan Family Hotel is ranked among the best 25 Family Hotels in Italy.
The vacation package offered by Color Holiday becomes the most complete in Italy: with more than 30 exclusive services designed for children and parents, the PREMIUM ALL INCLUSIVE is created.
New accommodations also join the Color Holiday family: the Color Palace Lido in Lido di Savio and the Color Ermitage Beach in Bellaria. A real success for the group, which, in this way, totals more than 800 rooms.

2022

For 2 consecutive years, all Color Holiday facilities receive awards for their quality as far as family tourism is concerned. The Metropolitan remains among the top 25 Family Hotels in Italy and the Color Green Village also receives a prestigious award, ranking as the 11th best All Inclusive Resort In Europe.
A new hotel in Milano Marittima joins the family.
The group's mission is to renovate and bring back to life the Color Miami Beach, a historic hotel in Milano Marittima that has unfortunately fallen to the bottom of the ratings charts for years.
In just 3 months the Group brings it back to glory, taking it to 1st place in the Hotel category in Milano Marittima, 3rd place in Emilia Romagna, 12th place in Italy.

2023

The family grows even larger with the Color Perla Village in Igea Marina. 150 more rooms joining a well-established group, still with the board basis offering the most complete array of services in all of Romagna, the PREMIUM ALL INCLUSIVE.
To date, there are about 40 services included in the Premium All Inclusive board basis for each accommodation.

...What about the summer of 2023?... In the next episodes of this story :)