Italian hotel chain gives therapy to Pokémon fanatics

Salvatore Madonna, the CEO of Soft Living Places, which has five-star hotels in Forte de Marmi, a beach town popular among the world’s rich, and Viareggio, said that dependency on the game “knows no social barriers”.

And so the company, which in the past has offered therapy for those obsessed with iPhones and other forms of technology, has brought in the services of multi-lingual psychologists.

"We're seeing billionaires, Sheikhs, Emirs, their wives and children, Russian oligarchs and Italian industrialists hunting virtual creatures in the swimming pool, or in corridor and reception,” Madonna added. 

“This is why I've decided to provide my clients with counsellors, who can intervene in cases of a more pronounced illness.”

Guests pay €5,000 a night to stay at the company's hotels.