The Best Stay conference of tourism leaders was held in Terme Sveti Martin, the best wellness hotel in Croatia
The Best Stay conference was held in Terme Sveti Martin, which brought together representatives and managers of the largest Croatian and international hotel chains to share knowledge, best practices, and ideas about sustainability in tourism, and the application of innovative technologies in destination development.
An innovative and sustainable region from which everyone can learn about tourism - Međimurje
In the synergy of themes and location, Terme Sveti Martin was declared the best wellness hotel, and the Međimurje region was awarded and recognized as a place of sustainable and innovative tourism, after winning the European Destination of Excellence conference 3 times in a row.
Terme Sveti Martin is the best wellness hotel and the only Eco label hotel in Croatia
As pioneers of sustainable processes in the hotel Terme Sveti Martin, they are the only Croatian hotel with the EU Ecolabel certificate. Nuša Korotaj, General Director of Terme Sveti Martin, opened the conference with a keynote and guide colleagues through the philosophy, but also the process of the highest standards of environmental protection; "It is our desire to find new sustainable solutions together with our colleagues which will answer changes awaiting tourism and the hotel industry."
At her presentation, Mrs. Korotaj showed the results of sustainable practices that reduced their operating costs by between 20 and 40% depending on the segments and shared the experiences of guests who object to some of the activities at first, but when they realize how it reduces water consumption, they agree to a compromise in the expected luxury.
How to retain employees
David Taylor from Adriatic Luxury Hotels, Dino Katalenić from the newly opened Slovenian hotel Milka, and Larisa Jovanović from Blue Kotor Bay Premium Resort shared tactics for how to inspire and retain employees, such as sending them to internships in luxury resorts or restaurants with Michelin stars. Katalinić told how they inspired employees by having all employees stay at the hotel as guests - from booking on the web to check-in, and staying overnight, which helped them understand their role and develop professional pride. Everyone agreed that the employees are the most important part of the hotel service.
Exclusive presentation of Maistra's new concept of urban, city hotels, City Vibes
Representatives of Maistra Hospitality Group presented Maistra's new City Vibes brand inspired by Zagreb, Hotel Zonar Zagreb, part of the City Vibes brand, which is a modern, urban and cool hotel facing the urban fabric that surrounds it. After opening in 2023, the hotel will become an IT location in Zagreb mainly because of its swimming pool and entertainment zone called Cherry Pop on the roof at a height of 45 meters.
Hotel Zonar has several different types of rooms and suites and is inspired by postmodern architecture. Within the hotel are the restaurant Skinny Pig, the cocktail bar Skin2Skin, and the fish steak restaurant and take-out deli, which will be open to citizens as well as hotel guests.
The hotel's slogan is "The Earth never stops moving, neither should you", which means the hotel targets urban, global travelers who are constantly on the move.
The second day of the conference was dedicated to sustainable and transformational concepts and examples of good practice
One of the hot tourism topics is sustainability, so in accordance with that, Ged Brown, CEO of the tourism project Low Season Traveler from Great Britain, opened the second day of the conference with an inspiring lecture during which he actively asked the audience what it really means to have a sustainable business and what are the steps to have and remain sustainable tourism business.
In addition, the conference participants could calculate their carbon footprint, and offset it by planting the Hažić family's vineyard in the spring of 2023.
Tourism conference in augmented reality
In addition to demonstrations of various technology solutions for all segments of the tourism business, the application of AR in the development of destinations was also demonstrated at the conference itself, in the form of a quiz that participants could try through an application on their phones.
Soon we will publish the report from Best Stay 2022.