Croatia
Maslina – Of MICE and Zen
CMW ’ S SIMON GEORGE CHECKS INTO MASLINA ON HVAR ISLAND AND EXPLORES ITS CONCEPT OF MINDFUL LUXURY IN SEARCH OF HIS INNER ZEN
Hvar from the madding crowd Situated on the island of Hvar on Croatia ’ s Dalmatian coast , the five-star resort of Maslina (‘ Olive ’ in Croatian ) took two years to build and opened its doors in August 2020 . The resort , which is open from May to October , offers 50 rooms , three villas ( with plans for a further five ), private residences and a wellness centre . Mindful luxury is the mantra that Maslina is keen to promote , to provide guests with an environment where they can relax , detox and re-energise both physically and mentally .
In terms of dedicated event space , Maslina offers one room within the hotel suitable for boardroom-style meetings which can accommodate up to 25 people ; space that can be customised for workshops ; the option of complete buyouts of its three luxurious villas for corporate offsites ; and it has nearly completed an outside event space with wooden decking geared for weddings close to a sandy bay five minutes ’ walk from the hotel . In terms of size , Maslina ’ s key markets are the US , UK , France and Germany and Croatia . Occupancy is currently running at about 60 % ( pro rated on a 12-month basis ).
Strong rebound CMW sat down with Maslina ’ s sales and marketing manager Jelena Bilić Režić . The post-pandemic resurgence in travel has obviously been good news for the hotel industry globally and Maslina is no exception – the hotel has seen a clear improvement ( up c . 10 % y-o-y ) in bookings , Režić said .
Booking visibility for the resort ’ s three villas ( Borovina , Uvala and Litica ) is looking very good for August , and booking for the first half of September is
Maslina on the Croatian island of Hvar
also healthy , which Režić partly puts down to climate change – the sea is still warm enough to swim in in October . To offset inflationary cost pressures ( e . g . power , food , fuel prices ), Režić did flag that Maslina has had to raise prices by 10 % this year .
Weddings are a new segment for Maslina but an increasingly important one judging by client enquiries . The hotel will host a big wedding in October ( a complete buyout of the resort by a Swiss family ) and it has already had several requests for next year .
Maslina has also staged product launches – last August it held a fragrance launch for the US company Tory Burch , which booked one of the villas to showcase its product range , and it has already received enquiries about future product launches . Plans to hold car launches are also in the pipeline given Hvar ’ s scenic attractions .
Maslina is still feeling its way in terms of its MICE strategy , one senses , which is understandable given it has only been open for less than two years during
which time it has had to grapple with a number of well-documented headwinds . As Režić explains : “ We are still working on how best to present the MICE segment . From the beginning the hotel was not planned as a MICE hotel but we can see the potential there is to offer different kinds of events . But we still have to find a solution to where we can organise events .”
Režić singled out staffing ( getting the right staff ) and goods supply ( a perennial problem because Maslina is on an island ) as the two main issues it faces .
There is no shortage of activities , however . Maslina promotes a wide range of trips and experiences for its guests – for example , whether it is a visit to Hvar Town some 15km away to see its medieval fortress and ramparts ; exploring the UNESCO heritage site of Stary Grad ; sampling some local wine at Duboković winery at Jelsa , olive oil tasting or simply indulging in a range of massage and spa treatments at its pharomatiq spa . n
ISSUE 125 / CONFERENCE & MEETINGS WORLD / 27