Albergo Diffuso Sauris
Who we are:
The multi-building hotel Sauris is located in Italy, among the mountains of Friuli Venezia Giulia, at an altitude of 1,400 metres. It has thirty-two comfortable self-contained lodgings located within twelve old houses scattered in the hamlets of Sauris di Sopra, Sauris di Sotto and Lateis, and a small wellness centre for exclusive use. From 2019 we also manage the Grien SPA, the municipal wellness centre, the Treinke campsite and the boat rental business on Lake Sauris.
Tell us about sustainability, what are you good at?
The story of the Sauris multi-building hotel is one of natural sustainability. The widespread accommodation model itself, theorised for the first time right here in Carnia, as part of an extensive redevelopment and development programme for the mountain area of our region, and realised thanks to a major funding intervention by the EU, encapsulates the criteria of the major international standards for sustainable management.
CONSERVATION OF THE LOCAL ARCHITECTURAL HERITAGE – Most of our lodgings are located inside historical buildings or former stavoli (barns) in the ancient villages of Sauri di Sopra, Sauris di Sotto and Lateis, renovated in full respect of their typical architecture, using natural materials and employing local labour.
365 HOSPITALITY – Unlike most mountain accommodation facilities, we are open 365 days a year. We strive to guarantee continuity of commitment to the resident population and promote the enjoyment of the destination even during the low season.
INTEGRATION WITH THE COMMUNITY AND PROMOTION OF THE GENIUS LOCI – Integration with the community is one of the most characterising aspects of our accommodation experience, both from the guests’ point of view and in terms of our management.
By staying in the village houses, the guest has the chance to get to know the local reality at first hand, use the other services in the area (restaurants, shops, etc.) and become a true (temporary) local.
Community support is also ensured through concrete and ongoing actions: we actively support local associations, and through our Business Network we have been created 5 experiential tourism activities on the Storyliving Artès model, with the aim of promoting the most characteristic aspects of our Genius Loci.
RESPECT FOR THE ENVIRONMENT AND THE TERRITORY AND SUSTAINABLE MOBILITY – We know that we are part of a delicate and fragile ecosystem and we are committed to guarding it by carefully monitoring and reducing our consumption.
Our business is completely plastic-free and we do not use any single-dose products. We have improved our in-house cleaning and laundry activities by using innovative, 100% natural products that allow huge savings in terms of water consumption and washing temperatures.
Finally, we encourage and involve guests in caring for the environment and sustainable mobility, with the aim of increasing their green awareness and maximising the positive results achieved.
RESPONSIBLE AND LOCAL PROCESSING – Accommodation facilities include products from local and organic (tea and herbal teas, soap, shower gel, shampoo) and fair trade (coffee, sugar) supply chains.
Through our blog and communication channels, we promote local food and craftsmanship and the purchase of km 0 products.
THE GREEN TEAM – Sustainability is a team game and employees are our most valuable resource. We strongly believe in the value of lifelong learning and organise annual interprofessional training courses and activities (dedicated to the topic of sustainability among others) with the aim to stimulate and increase individual skills and synergy among our team members.
We provide accommodation free of charge for non-resident employees, while local employees are provided with vouchers for expenses/fuels.
We promote a peaceful working environment by offering all employees the opportunity to use the hotel’s facilities and services (swimming pool, gym, spa, etc.) in their free time.
SAURIS AWARDED BEST TOURISM VILLAGE BY UNWTO – At the end of December 2022, the municipality of Sauris was awarded the title of Best Tourism Village 2022 by the United Nations World Tourism Organisation, along with 32 other rural tourist villages around the world. Among the reasons for the prestigious award, UNWTO officially underlined the value of the tourist-receptive experience of the Sauris multi-building hotel, as well as the fundamental role it has played over the years in the sustainable development of the entire Sauris destination.
This international recognition honours us and encourages us to continue and further refine the sustainable management of our activity and testifies to the deep integration between our Sauris multi-building hotel and our Community.
Why did you choose GSTC certification?
In 2022 we embarked with enthusiasm and commitment on the path towards sustainability certification, reorganising and rationalising the good practices that have always identifiedour management. We are happy to have chosen a certification to the GSTC Standard: the most complex but also the one with the most credibility and visibility internationally.
We also had the great opportunity to share this path with other small and medium-sized Italian and European tourism companies, as part of the European Tourism Going Green Project (ETGG2030), which ended in Vienna at the beginning of May 2023.
We strongly believe in the importance of networking and collaboration between companies and DMOs.
One of our goals for the near future, in addition to further improving our sustainable management, is to get involved in the creation of a cluster of certified Italian and European tourism SMEs that can be a reference point and a source of inspiration for an ever increasing number of companies that want to get involved.
Please leave Vireo some feedback
We are delighted to have worked with Vireo to certify our sustainable management according to the GSTC criteria. We would like to thank the auditors, Diego De Santis and Eddy Papais, for the great competence and availability shown during the long and delicate pre-assessment and audit process, which have enabled us to identify good practices for managing our company in a sustainable manner, thus enabling us to achieve our business objectives, guaranteeing a perspective for our employees and the community where we live and work. Thank you for your cooperation.
The Board of Directors of the Albergo Diffuso Sauris and its staff