In this podcast, Marina Franolic talks about hospitality in Croatia, a popular Mediterranean destination with rave reviews.  Marina explains why Croatia has become a favourite tourist destination and why so many tourists return there for their holidays.

Marina also discusses her work at The Bench, a global investment event organization and hospitality trends and innovations such as long-term stay that are focused on travellers that would like to be more comfortable in their accommodation, or are staying for a week, a month or more in the city. 

Marina also speaks about lifestyle hotels that are particularly attractive to younger travellers who want to experience the local atmosphere even within the hotel. Lifestyle brands bring the community inside by creating different rooms and social spaces and also serving the local clientele.

Finally, Marina talks about the future of hospitality and the importance of sustainability and gender equality and what the industry needs to do to improve on these vital topics.

Marina Franolic is the Managing Director at The Bench, a global hospitality investment event organiser. Marina joined in 2019 when her Adria Hotel Forum – now IDEEA Hospitality Investment Forum, was acquired by The Bench. 

Marina began her hospitality career at the Glion Institute of Higher and the Hotel Savoy, Rocco Forte group, in Florence. After several years outside of the hospitality industry, in 2012, she established her company with the goal of bringing global trends to the regional industry. 

In 2013, Adria Hotel Forum was launched with the idea of showcasing world trends, sparking the creation of new ideas and partnerships and overall development of the hotel industry. Within years, AHF was confirmed to be the only internationally recognized hotel investment conference within South-Eastern Europe whose partners were global companies. The company then started another unique event with the goal of bringing trends into everyday hotel operations – HOW /Hotel Operations Weekend/ Festival that gathers every year more than 500 participants. In 2018, the company was rebranded as HESA Group and served as the connoisseur of the regional market and opportunities. 

In addition, Marina serves as the Industry Advisory Board Member at Glion Institute of Higher Education and holds both Croatian and Italian citizenship.