POLAND Agro brand hotels are a new concept designed to tap into the latent potential of rural Polish areas, by encouraging local entrepreneurs to create facilities for the kind of tourists who enjoy self-catering holidays in the countryside. "Our idea is to encourage investors from rural areas to adapt farms in villages or towns that are attractive for tourists," declares Krzysztof Milski, the president of the Polish Chamber of Hoteliers. This self-governing professional organisation has drawn up a development programme for rural areas and towns of up to 5,000 inhabitants, called the European Agro Hotel Organisation. Agro hotels offer entrepreneurs the chance to join the franchise programme of the Polish Chamber of Hoteliers. The organisation is also inviting tourist organisations and local authorities to cooperate.
Business in the country
"The investor will own 100 pct of the hotel, but the Chamber offers them a comprehensive service, from training for beginner hoteliers, analysis and assessment of the location's potential, adjusting the facility's size to the given conditions and the construction of the hotel, as well as legal and economic assistance, marketing support and providing access to centralised on-line booking," explains the president of the Polish Chamber of Hoteliers. The number of rooms and beds will consequently depend upon the potential of a given location, and so the Chamber's consultants will help investors acquire an appropriate star-rating for their hotels. Additionally, the analysts will support investors in their efforts to obtain financing, particularly taking into consideration the fact that some funds in the form of non-repayable subsidies can be acquired from EU rural area support programmes, such as. the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development. The scheme is also implemented with the Polish Ministry of Agriculture. "We expect potential investors to provide funds of PLN 7 mln for a standard hotel with 50 rooms. This is much less than is needed in a city. We estimate that the annual net profit for an investor could amount to as much as PLN 1 mln," adds Krzysztof Milski. This new form of hotel chain is to be targeted at tourists of moderate income who are planning a longer stay in the country with their families. The price of renting a room that could accommodate several people will not be more than PLN 150 per night.
Healthy and ecological
The concept is also based on utilising the potential of the rural environment. The Polish Chamber of Hoteliers is hoping that the investors who join the scheme will want to exploit their own assets and offer food they (or their neighbours) have grown themselves, using ecologically-friendly methods. "We have received a letter from the German Deputy Minister of Agriculture, Ilona Mende-Daum, in which she praised our initiative and offered the help of German companies with regard to eco-friendly solutions for such facilities. Such technologies will make it possible to save water and generate power from our own sources," explains Krzysztof Milski. The president of the Polish Chamber of Hoteliers also details other aspects of the Agro hotel project.
Let's stick together
The stimulation of the local economy is to take place through working with local action groups organised by provincial governments. The Chamber is already planning to enter negotiations with local councils over access roads, sewage systems and lighting for future hotel sites. It is also planning to negotiate the provision of special bank loans for potential investors. The idea to develop a chain of Agro hotels followed an analysis carried out in five provinces - Pomerania, Sub-Carpathia, Silesia, Podlasie and Warmia-Masuria - which laid bare the need to energise these rural areas, the demand for hotel services and the potential for finding investors. "The Agro chain of hotels provides a solution to the shortage of accommodation in many very attractive regions of Poland and at the same time will encourage tourists to visit these areas," claims Krzysztof Milski. When will the project be launched? The programme was submitted to the Ministry of Agriculture last August. Organisational work is now pending, but the interest has apparently been huge. "We are receiving inquiries from Hajnówka, Karlin, Tomaszów Lubelski, Gietrzwałd - and this is only the beginning," adds Krzysztof Milski.
