The Gorski Hotel&Spa team comprises people who have a clear vision and idea. They are pioneers who don’t follow in anyone else’s footsteps. With belief in what they do and the innovations they implement, they waited patiently to be recognised by the market
We constantly push the boundaries in the food and beverage segment, in our spa and wellness programmes, but we are most proud of our innovations intended for children. We emerge from every season victorious, with satisfied guests who happily return to us multiple times during the year – reveals Gorski Hotel&Spa GM Milorad Janković in this interview.
We know that you have the biggest rooms and the most luxurious suites, the best location, the most modern ski room, great services etc. In which other aspects have you shifted the boundaries of the mountain tourism segment?
The boundaries shift from day to day, with many contributing factors – from the changing behaviour and expectations of tourists, to new technological options and opportunities.
The specific boundaries that we’ve pushed the most are in the food and beverage segment, which is supported by the accolades and awards we received in the previous period. Apart from those boundaries, we’ve also extended those in the spa and wellness programmes segment, and, finally, we are most proud of our innovations from the segment of programmes intended for children.
We’ve organised free workshops where our youngest guests spend five days preparing a play with distinguished academic actors, and on the last day they perform the play for their parents and other hotel guests.
What is it that ensures both families and businesspeople, young and old, active holidaymakers, but also those for whom rest and relaxation are the most important elements, are happy to stay with you?
The Gorski Hotel&Spa team comprises people who have a clear vision and idea, so we are mostly pioneers who don’t follow in anyone else’s footprints, but rather – with belief in what we do and the innovations we implement – we waited patiently for that to be recognised by the market.
By using an appropriate marketing mix and other promotional elements, we’ve succeeded in maintaining a position that ensures we enter each new season with plenty of innovations and new packages of services. We emerge victorious, with a successful season behind us and satisfied guests who happily return multiple times during the year. This might sound simple, but is very demanding in practice.
Ever since Kopaonik entered into competition against Europe’s most famous mountain centres, and primarily ski resorts, lots of work has been done to improve the offer. Does that also apply to hoteliers?
There’s really a lot that’s been done to improve the offer of the Kopaonik Ski Resort, and representing the biggest shift in this sense is the construction of the Brzeće – Mali Karaman gondola (cable car). When it comes to hoteliers, constantly improving the offer represents the ultimate approach if you want to retain the attention of your guests, to avoid boring them and losing them. The hoteliers of Kopaonik certainly set new limits and there’s no longer a question over whether a mountain hotel that aspires to be at the very top of the offer covers all segments in the domain of hotel services – from accommodation to food and drinks, spa and wellness programmes, children’s playrooms, ski equipment rooms and all other entertainment content, generally with a rich music programme. This all existed before too, the only difference being that today each segment is approached with much greater attention to detail and much more is invested in each segment. It is certainly possible to charm a guest who’s visiting for the first time, but the real challenge is to turn them into a regular guest, one who will delight every time at the very thought of booking their stay at your hotel.