Tourists, nature lovers
Private. Funding done by family members till 2016 and later through a family business – company Asfalting d.o.o.
The owner’s family (Pernat – Lesjak) have in 2011 decided to fully renovate their 200-year-old family cottage, but still save as much as possible of the history in the house. They wanted to open a tourist accommodation offering peace and quite and connection to nature. That idea was for some very strange, because the region was not very interesting for tourist and there was lots of skepticism. In 2016 they opened a hospitality business as a second business category of their construction company. They hired a professional photograph and created an internet site, as well as a site on Booking.com and Google My Business. The key logic behind the accommodation business was to keep the tourist on site – at the holiday house, by offering different activities and to connect to different local providers that could supplement the offer. So, they started to collaborate with local provider of sports activities – Pohorc Adventure, with local masseuse Darja Urbanc and local physiotherapist – Ambrož Cotič, local Pizzeria Zlati Škorpijon for food delivery, local bakery Saint Lorenz, local pasta producer – Moje Testenine, local ecological farm – Sadonik and Ferlinc (welcome gift is a ecologically produced apple juice form Ferlinc Farm). In their bathroom they offer local soups from a provider Zelišča Salvia and all the promotion material were made by local textile producer – Martina Vračko – Kolman. In the house they offer local food products and their own honey from a nearby beehive. From 2021 they also rent out 5 mountain e-bikes.
From 2016 the business is constantly evolving and growing. They have in average 120 days rental of the house with around 800 overnight stays or about 300 guests per year. Form 2016 till March 2022 altogether they have hosted 1.500 guests. The ratio between Slovenian and foreign tourist is around 60% - 40%, due to many of regular guests that return every year. They also have yearly promotion activities, high standards of hospitality and constant aspiration for being better.
The description of the accommodation:
Cottage Dobnik is a holiday house that is situated in the heart of Pohorje forests, 2 km away from a small town, Lovrenc na Pohorju. The house is located on a 44 ha (108.724 acres) estate and offers you a total relaxation, peace, and intimacy. The cottage has a big garden with a family swing and lots of flowers. On the garden there is also a big open fireplace (firepit), large BBQ and sitting area, children’s playground and herbal garden beam that you can also use when cooking. Near the house is a wellness cottage with Finnish sauna and a possibility of offering different massages from a local provider. Additional activities, such as guided hiking, climbing, canyoning, boat rowing and horseback riding, can be arranged at your request.
In the house there is a fully equipped kitchen, living room with a big dining table for 12 people, bathroom with shower, toilette, and 4 bedrooms for 8 persons with 4 extra beds and one baby cot. Behind the house is a big wooden terrace. In addition, the house is equipped with WI-FI, two LED TV with local channels, stereo, DVDs, books, entertainment games, badminton rackets, slippers, towels, linen, basic toiletries and basic kitchen supplies.
The tourist accommodation centers its comparative advantages through following attributes:
- Location in the middle of a forest, surrounded by hectares of private property of the owners.
- No neighbors and guaranteed privacy
- Pristine connection to nature
- Strong collaboration with local community and providers of different goods and services
- Connecting with history by staying in 200 years old cottage with authentic interior
- High standard of quality of services and cleanliness.
- Self-catering accommodation with food delivery option
- Different possibilities of spending time at the property (Finnish sauna, open fireplace, big BBQ, Big terrace and garden of flowers, bird watching, rental of mountain e-bikes, children’s playground, herbal garden beam, bread oven)
- 8+4 beds for big families or groups of friends
- Teambuilding organization possibilities
Connecting with local community and taking care of your business partners as well as running a business with high standard of services is the key for everyone’s satisfaction!