Albergo Diffuso (Diffused/Distributed Hotel): Case Study of Slovenia

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.