No abstract

In the second decade of the 21st century, Albergo Diffuso (ad), a new type of tourist accommodation, which originated in Italy, emerged in other countries of Europe, e.g. in Croatia, Switzerland, Slovenia and others. The purpose of this paper is to set out an in-depth understanding of how ad is understood in Italy and to present the evolutionary path of ads in Slovenia. The goals of the research are (a) to point out the key characteristics of ad, its structural and legal features as implemented in Italy, (b) to compare ad to a traditional hotel and (c) to present the first Slovenian ad with some related legal and organisational considerations. The research started in June and was completed in December 2017. A number of different qualitative methods were used in the process of data collection (review of existing literature, websites, regulations and four in-depth semi-structured interviews, two site-observations) and data processing (description, compilation, comparison, analysis, interpretation). The limited amount of available data was the prime reason for the use of a descriptive type of research. Results of the study are presented according to the research goals. Firstly, the results show that ads in Italy are understood to be a formal subtype of hotel with the following characteristics: with deep ties to the surrounding territory and the local culture, with some special physical features and a hospitality service that distinguishes them from traditional hotels and other traditional types of private tourist accommodations. Secondly, several initiatives for creating ads in Slovenia started after 2010; however, only one was realised: in December 2017 the first ad, Konjice, was opened, even though official tourism documents in Slovenia are still overlooking the concept. The contribution of the paper is to provide insight into the evolution of ad in Italy and to present the evolution of ads in Slovenia despite the gap between the strategic approach of Slovene tourism policy makers and the private tourism sector. ads are a somewhat new research topic. There are some research studies about ads in Italy and Croatia, but none about ads in Slovenia. This paper represents the first step in filling this gap, which calls for further studies on ads in Slovenia.

Purpose This study aims to investigate the content of hotel brands’ mission statements (MSs) and their relationship with selected attributes of hotel brands. Design/methodology/approach Content analysis of hotel brands’ MSs was used to detect the MSs’ key words, which were further processed by methods of social network analysis, complemented by clustering techniques and correspondence analysis on the generalized aggregated lexical tables, a special type of correspondence analysis. Findings Hotel brands operating in luxurious markets more often emphasize experiences than those in midscale markets. Furthermore, hotel brands with longer traditions and those with a large number of controlled rooms communicate words in their MSs that represent a rather traditional approach to hospitality. Younger hotel brands with fewer controlled rooms chose words that indicate a more commercially oriented approach. Finally, cluster analysis revealed four dimensions of hotel brands’ MSs, instead of the nine most typically used in mission statement component models. Practical implications Understanding the frequencies and networks of keywords, and their relationship with hotel brand attributes, will help create more focussed MSs. This will strengthen hotel brands, raise their revenues and subsequently increase company performance. Originality/value The analysis provides valuable insight into MSs in the specific tourism context of hotel brands. The authors have achieved this with the use of a wide range of advanced network analytic methods. These insights can guide hotel brands to better position themselves in the competitive tourism accommodation market.

The purpose of the research is to investigate the implementation of blockchains (BCs) and smart contracts (SCs) in smart tourism. BCs and SCs in the context of tourism are underexplored. Data were collected and analysed from relevant secondary sources in extensive desktop research between January and August 2018. The results highlight some implemented examples of BCs and SCs in tourism and few that are still in probation phase. The findings are interesting for tourism policy-makers, professionals, academics and tourism suppliers who are interested in real value added of BCs and SCs in tourism.

Animals have been an important part of human life for ages. Nowadays, some people even treat pets as life-companions, which accompany them even on vacations. The main purpose of this article is a) to identify issues that owners deal with while planning a trip or when travelling with their pets and b) to present the attitudes of Slovenian pet owners regarding pet hotels. The research was conducted in Slovenia in 2019 and 2020, using a combination of qualitative and quantitative research methods. The findings show that Slovene pet owners rather travel with their pets than put them in pet hotels, particularly when going on vacation by car and travelling on short trips through Slovenia or in neighbouring countries. Regarding pet hotels, pet owners are mostly concerned about professional care for their pets and less about the price of the service. The study gives important information to tourist accommodation providers and pet hotel providers on how to adapt their services to their ‘pet guest’ and satisfy the pet owners.