“My dad or my boss?" The story of a family hotel

This is the real story of Fabrizio Vienna and his hotel. Hotel Terme Antica Vienna is a family owned and managed hotel situated in Abano Terme, a famous spa location in the north-east of Italy. Fabrizio wants the family dynasty to continue within the business. To realize his wish, he has started to give some ownership stakes to his children but he feels he needs some help to realize his dream. He calls Paolo, a family business consultant. The case reports a rich set of materials: Paolo’s notes about the family and the business history, some transcriptions from the interviews Paolo did with the family managers and some drawings by the children. The main topics on which the case focuses are: decision-making, relationship conflicts and role conflict. The case provides potential discussion and review of factors impacting on succession, innovation, strategy, and human resources relating to small and medium enterprises.