A bike hotel is not a hotel with a bike room added on: it is a business designed around cyclists from day one. That is the core idea behind Casa Bart, the B&B that Augusta Angelino and her husband Luca Bartolini run at the foot of the Monviso, in the province of Cuneo, Piedmont.
Augusta left a secure marketing job at a multinational to build a business in cycle tourism. In this episode of From Bike to Business, Bikenomist's series on the bikenomics hosted by Paolo Pinzuti, she explains how they did it, and how they find their guests in a destination that is not yet on the cycling map.
Business plan first, house second
Before they even found the house, Augusta and Luca did their homework. They studied the area, analysed tourist flows, took training courses and wrote a detailed business plan. Only then did they look for the property that would host the project.
It is the opposite of the usual path, where someone inherits or buys a building and then wonders what to do with it. At Casa Bart, the idea and the target came first, and the house had to fit them.
Built for cyclists
"We founded Casa Bart because we wanted to offer hospitality to cyclists," Augusta says. Every service follows from that choice:
- a bike room with video surveillance and an alarm;
- a small workshop for repairs;
- a laundry for technical clothing and a bike washing area;
- breakfast served as early as 5 a.m., for those who want to start their ride at dawn;
- a welcome that makes guests feel part of the family.
Guests come from all over Italy and from abroad. Even though Casa Bart is far from the best-known cycle routes, the consistency of the project has built a reputation based on authentic experiences and word of mouth.
Four levers to get on the map
The Cuneo area does not yet have a structured cycle tourism offer. It has mountains, blossoming orchards, the Monviso and climbs made famous by the Giro d'Italia and the Tour de France, but someone has to tell that story. So Augusta and Luca decided to go out and get found instead of waiting to be discovered. Their levers:
- Working with the local community, because no bike hotel can sell a destination on its own.
- Being present at industry events, starting with the Cycle Tourism Show, where they have always gone to meet cycle tourists.
- Constant use of social media, to keep the place visible all year round.
- Proposing routes beyond the Alta Via del Sale, to show that the area has more to offer than its best-known itinerary.
On persistence, Augusta has a clear image: "the drop that carves the rock". Sometimes, she admits, you have to be a little annoying to get noticed.
The bikenomics lesson
Italy is full of empty houses and inland areas looking for a future. Cycle tourism can give many of them a second life, but Casa Bart shows that the bike is not a magic formula. What works is a clear vision, planning before opening, patience, collaboration between public and private players, and a constant presence on the market.
If you are thinking of turning a family house into a business for cyclists, start where Augusta and Luca did: from the guests you want to host, not from the building you own.
Watch the full episode of From Bike to Business with Augusta Angelino on YouTube and read the Italian recap on Bikeitalia.
And in the meantime, happy cycling.