27-8-2023 (ROME) An Italian hotel has issued a public apology following an outrageous incident where a bikini-clad female employee was used as a buffet centerpiece, covered in chocolate. Vacationers were taken aback when they arrived for an afternoon buffet at the four-star Voi Hotels in Golfo Aranci, Sardinia, which included sandwiches, cakes, pastries, and canapés, along with the partially unclothed woman.
Among the shocked guests was HR manager Federico Mazzieri, who expressed his dismay at the poolside buffet. Mr. Mazzieri, who was accompanied by his 14-year-old daughter, was appalled by the scene and said, “We were both speechless. My daughter said to me, ‘Dad, how disgusting, this is not a country where women can achieve things.’ What on earth were the hotel management thinking of? It was simply objectifying the female figure.”
He continued, “She was covered in chocolate and must have been there for half an hour. The hotel had been promoting the day before a chocolate statue, and it was clear what they meant.”
Mr. Mazzieri shared further details of the incident, saying, “We had spent the evening elsewhere in the hotel, and the management announced an evening buffet would be served poolside. When we got there, we just couldn’t believe it. One of the entertainment staff was on a table, in a bikini, and she was stretched out and covered in chocolate, amid all the food. I work in HR, and I just thought, who on earth allowed this to happen? It was thoughtless and disgusting.”
He also mentioned that other guests began taking photos of the scene, but he and his daughter decided to leave after a few minutes. When he inquired at the hotel reception the next day about the buffet, they didn’t seem concerned. So, Mr. Mazzieri posted about the incident on LinkedIn, and it quickly gained attention.
The hotel issued an apology, stating, “Above all, we would like to offer our customers who were at the hotel our most sincere apologies. We would like to strongly emphasize that every day we are committed to practicing the declared values, among which, in a priority, is respect for our staff and guests. We deeply regret this incident and wish to reiterate we never had any intention of misrepresenting anything other than the values we stand for. We will continue to work tirelessly so that situations like this do not happen again, and we are taking immediate action to address this incident and ensure no customers are offended in the future.”
Cristian Solinas, the regional governor for Sardinia, expressed his embarrassment and criticized the hotel’s actions, saying, “This is an episode that offends everyone and has also left me embarrassed. This is a scene which we should never have seen and it goes completely against the welcoming image of Sardinia.”
Paolo Manca of Italy’s Federation of Hotels condemned the incident, describing it as unforgivable and in very poor taste. However, he added, “I don’t think it’s the modus operandi of the chain.” The Voi Hotels chain is used by British holiday firms easyJet and Thomas Cook.
