Effective occupancy of the holiday houses: condition for the development of the destination

Holiday houses are widespread in places close to big urban areas. The majority of them are rarely used. The low usage rate applies not only to houses of non resident owners, but also to rental houses, as these are often leased out for a long term period and the behaviour of the renter mimics the behaviour of a second home’s owner. In this circumstances, there is a large number of not productive beds in the destination (cold beds) with the result of a decrease in tourist demand for commercial, recreational and complementary services, determining a decline of the destination. This paper provides an analysis of the effects of the presence of holiday houses on the development of destinations with a high concentration of such accommodations, stressing that the main problem is connected with their management system. It shows that the development of the destination depends on the presence and management of rental houses and on the development or consolidation of new methods of management, marketing and trading.