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When in eighties an earthquake hit the Italian province of Friuli, the efforts to restore and reconstruct the area also gave rise to a concept of diffuse or scattered hotels. The term denotes separated accomodation facilities managed from a single reception area. The first accomodation unit of that kind is established in the City of Šibenik – but fortunately, not the last one, as more and more private renters across the country recognize an exceptional tourism potential in this method of association.
Diffuse or scattered hotel (in Italian, albergo disperso) is not a novelty worldwide – just in Italy, the country of its origin, there are about 60 such hotels.
Although this type of accommodation is miles away from the traditional hotel ambience, it undoubtedly has many advantages, both for the customer and for the owners. It provides the option of immediate familiarization with the authentic local culture and atmosphere, while at the same time strengthens the private accommodation sector by making it more organized and more homogeneous.
High criteria of this form of integration of accommodation facilities, require homogenisation of tourist offer in terms of equalizing among competitors (all objects need to be of the same category), greater attention to the arrangement of buildings, modernization through the introduction of apparatus for cashless payments, the use of shared cleaning services and organized meals for guests (who are, according to their preferences, also free to take care of the food themselves). All the aforementioned means systematically optimizing private accommodation by all its aspects.
The first city in our country that has applied this initiative is Šibenik, which boasts the first scattered hotel in the old town core. It unites all of those who do business there – various unrelated guest facilities with a joint reception offer comfortable and quality accommodation, and taverns and restaurants are in charge of the food – traditional delicacies and specialties.
Interest in this type of tourist offer is not slowing down – among areas gradually joining the trend are Hvar, Umag, Konavle, Zadar…Since this method of grouping and associating of private renters has already showed a significant increase of facilities occupancy rate, we have no doubt that it will continue to evoke a good response.
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