Za novega ponudnika kongresne dejavnosti sta v prvi vrsti pomembna analiza trga in oblikovanje konkurenčne prednosti. Torej pregled obstoječih kongresnih lokacij, denimo v Sloveniji, in prepoznava vrzeli, na primer pomanjkanje manjših butičnih kongresnih prostorov, trajnostno naravnanih hotelov in vrhunskih tehničnih rešitev. Prepoznati je treba tudi svoje unikatne prednosti, kot so lokacija tik ob naravi, v središču mesta, v bližini letališča, posebna arhitektura, trajnostni certifikati, vrhunska kulinarična ponudba.
Novi kongresni hotel se torej lahko uspešno umesti na trg, če najde nišo (trajnost, butičnost, vrhunska tehnologija, povezava z naravo), gradi partnerstva z uradnimi kongresnimi organizacijami ter se profilira kot unikatna izkušnja za organizatorje in udeležence.
To je uspelo Bled Rose hotelu, ki je leta 2019 odprl svoja vrata na mestu nekdanjega blejskega hotela Jelovica. Gre za barvit, mladosten, energičen in hkrati prestižen hotel na edinstveni lokaciji, z domišljeno opremljenimi prostori, modernimi konferenčnimi zmogljivostmi in pestro kulinarično ponudbo. Hkrati je idealno prizorišče različnih dogodkov kot popoln hotel za sproščujoč oddih.
Butični poslovni turizem
Hotel vodi Natalija Kovač, ki pri svojem delu navdih črpa iz tujine, ob tem pa ji nikoli ne zmanjka lastnih idej. Predstavlja se kot direktorica prvega tako imenovanega instagramerskega hotela v Sloveniji in Evropi. Kovačeva prisega na delovanje zunaj ustaljenih okvirov (out of the box), skupaj z domačnostjo. Kot pravi, bi njihovo naravnanost lahko označili za butični poslovni turizem. »Kongresi niso industrija, so doživetje,« ob tem pravi direktorica.
Bled Rose hotel že sam po sebi stoji na energetski točki, poleg tega pa ga obdajata narava in zavidljiva infrastruktura – na eni strani Blejski grad, na drugi središče mesta. Jezero je le lučaj stran, proti njemu se odpirajo terase in dvorane, namenjene konferenčnemu turizmu. Lahko se pohvalijo tudi s številnimi certifikati.
Prvotni hotel Jelovica je imel tri zvezdice, nato so ga prenovili v štiri. »Bili smo čisto 'brez imena', hkrati pa z nahrbtnikom starega hotela, ki se sploh ni ukvarjal s kongresnim turizmom,« se začetkov spominja Kovačeva. Ni bilo marketinga, prav tako ne digitalne strategije, zato so morali napisati povsem novo zgodbo. Že v času prenove so se z ekipo, ki je kasneje prevzela vodenje hotela, dobivali na sestankih in snovali načrte.
Vse prilagojeno strankam
Ko so že odprli hotel, je hkrati potekala še adaptacija velnesa, tako da so se že spopadali s prvimi izzivi. Ko so končno želeli začeti, kot je treba, je prišla korona. A takrat so po besedah direktorice naredili največ – razvili so marketing in digitalno strategijo. Povabili so kar nekaj vplivnežev, saj tudi oni v času covida niso imeli dovolj vsebin, ki bi jih objavili, ter tako našli vzajemne koristi.
Po obdobju korone, ko so začeli prirejati tudi poslovne dogodke, so vedno preverjali tudi, kje so gosti izvedeli za njihov hotel in storitve. Odlikuje jih tudi manjša, a stalna kadrovska ekipa, ki se je sposobna hitro odzvati na morebitne sprotne izzive. Del nje je tudi tehnična ekipa z digitalno in marketinško podporo.
Ne prizadevajo si za čim večji obisk, temveč je vse prilagojeno strankam (custom-made) – za vsak dogodek gosti dobijo organizatorko. »Tu ni standardov, temveč vse sledi individualizmu,« pravi Kovačeva in dodaja, da veliko pripomore tudi dejstvo, da so ravno dovolj veliki, da omogočajo najem celotnega hotela.
![Story from Jam Press (Five Jobs Travel) Pictured: Lauren on her travels.Woman, 20, works 60-hour weeks with FIVE jobs and ditches pub and takeaway coffees to realise dreamA young woman has revealed how she worked five jobs at once in order to save money to travel the world.Lauren Wright was determined to leave the UK for pastures new the moment she turned 18 – but even budget-friendly backpacking comes at a steep cost.In order to fund her adventures, she started saving at the age of 15 and took on as many jobs as possible to make her dreams a reality.She spent an intense period of six months prior to her travels taking on five roles – including as a lifeguard, duty manager, team leader, receptionist and recreational assistant in various roles."I poured my heart and soul into working to save for my trip," the 20-year-old, who has visited more than a dozen countries, told Luxury Travel Daily."Most of them [the jobs] were zero-hour contracts, which allowed me to work as much or as little as I wanted."I jam-packed those six months, sometimes working 60-hour weeks and 18-hour shifts, going straight from one job to another throughout the day."I would get exhausted as I would sometimes give myself only one day off in a stretch of nine days back-to-back, and would then jump straight into the grind."However, I was driven and had my eye on the prize, making me constantly motivated."I don't think I would change a single thing."I am very proud of myself for what I have managed to achieve." For Lauren, being money savvy started back in her early teens.She said: "I am very fortunate to have such supportive and loving parents who made my saving process easier than most."I had very minimal outgoings, and therefore, every penny I made, I was able to save for my trip."I reached out to friends who had taken very similar trips and asked how much they had saved, setting myself a goal of around Ł14,000 as I never wanted to run out of money or feel like I couldn't participate in a once-in-a-lifetime activity while I was away."I have always been good at saving my money, saving more than spending, from the time I started working at 15."She combined these savings with the money saved in the intense period where she covered various jobs.Saving up didn't come without its sacrifices, and Lauren had to ditch a few luxuries and home comforts in order to meet her goal.She said: "I stopped eating out as much, reduced the amount of takeout coffee I would buy whilst out and about and started making more at home to save money."I also reduced the number of pub trips I went on with friends."Most importantly, I stopped all unessential shopping unless I was buying something that I was going to be able to take on my travels."Thanks to her savvy saving, Lauren has managed to visit many countries around the world, and have once-in-a-lifetime experiences she will remember forever.She added: "I have backpacked to Dubai, the Philippines, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Australia and New Zealand, as well as being lucky enough to travel a huge chunk of Europe, too."I initially started travelling with my boyfriend, but we broke up on the trip, causing me to travel solo, which taught me so many lessons and helped me to meet amazing people I may not have met otherwise."I wouldn't change my travels for the world, and I can't wait to see even more of the world as I continue to grow."According to the budget traveller, the best advice she has for those wanting to save money to travel the world is to research other people's journeys on social media, especially TikTok.Lauren told travel booking site Omio: "I did a lot of TikTok research, watching videos on how much money people spent per location and for their entire trip."I used all these figures to set a budget for myself of around Ł30 a day while I was in the more 'budget-friendly' countries such as Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Malaysia and Laos."This Ł30 a day would include my hostel or hotel, food, activities and basic fees such as my SIM card and laundry."I had a separate budget for activities, which was definitely needed to make the most of my trip."In the more expensive countries like Singapore, Indonesia, New Zealand and Australia, I would attempt to budget by seeing how much I was spending daily and trying to stick to that average, like Ł60 a day, which also included accommodation, which was much more expensive in these countries."I also didn't eat out as much in Australia and New Zealand, and often opted for grocery shopping and cooking in the hostel's kitchen."I would advise everyone planning a similar trip to do their research."TikTok is brilliant as you get people's first-hand experience, which can help you figure out what you want your trip to look like, for example, whether you want to stay in hotels or hostels."Sometimes, if you share a hotel room with a partner or friend, it works out cheaper, but then you may not get the social aspect of a hostel, so it really depends on what you want to prioritise."If you are on a tight budget, you can always opt for cheaper foods, such as eating street food at night markets rather than at restaurants."This way, you can experience the culture's food at a fraction of the cost."ENDS,Image: 1035475088, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions:, Model Release: no](/media/2025/09/10/766863/Wide-profimedia-1035475088-400.webp?1757492415)
