Experimentation, the human touch, tradition and the very best Made in Italy experience, without the red tape and with no preconceived notions: when the hospitality sector at last reopens to the public it will need new spaces and new ideas. “It’s going to be about getting back to basics. People want to go back to living normal lives, although that won’t happen overnight,” says Franco Costa, president of COSTA GROUP. The recovery will travel along three tracks. Sustainability: “we were the first to retrieve coffee grounds from motorway service stations and turn them into panels for furnishing systems. Now there’s more salvaging to do: old furniture can be restored and revisited as items for the world’s best hotels, to give them a second lease of life that is even better than the first.” Innovation: “If we don’t want foreign competition get the better of us we need to have the courage to learn and experiment.”

Finally, hospitality is also about welcoming people back. “To get things going again you need smiles, passion and love, as well as quality and design. The best furniture in the world won’t make any difference at all if the establishment doesn’t ‘have a smile on its face’.”

Despite the lockdown, Costa has had positive results. “We delivered Eataly Dallas and London and the Central Market in Milan, throughout the pandemic. Now we need to find a way of opening up again. Only by joining forces and working as a team will we retain a position of leadership. But it’s not the same without the trade fairs. Fairs have something magical about them.”

“The long-awaited return to conviviality will make people even more appreciative of being in a different environment to the home, a place in which to be pampered and surprised,” says Giovanni Schiraldi, the Food Service sales manager for South East Europe of the French group Arc International. “Those involved in the sector need to change their perspective, to ensure that places are less crowded, while retaining a high level of quality in the service provided and offering the pleasures of socialisation.”

Place settings also have a part to play in the overall effort. “Attention will have to be focused on two things: the functional efficiency of the elements that make up the table settings, with the use of articles that can be sanitised quickly and easily and stand up to repeated washing, because customers will expect an even cleaner, more hygienic environment than before.” And then also on design, with new collections and sophisticated styles suited to the market they are intended for: “Today, the combination of product design and functionality along with care for the environment are the things that will set you apart and help you remain credible in an ever more competitive market as well as catering to the needs of today’s discerning, demanding consumers.”