Hostels

Renting rooms, dwellings and holiday houses or receiving guests for short-term accommodation in accommodation hospitality facilities is considered as the carrying out of hospitality activity that must be registered.

Guests can be accommodate by: 

• legal entities or sole entrepreneurs registered for carrying out a hospitality activity,
• associations that have this activity determined in their founding act,
• natural entities private individuals and farmers.

Private individuals and farmers can carry out the accommodation activity in residential premises or on farms. 

• Private individuals are restricted to carry out this activity only occasionally, in total not exceeding five months in a calendar year and they can offer guests a maximum of up to 15 beds;
• farmers are restricted to carry out the activity as a supplementary activity on a farm in accordance with the governmental regulation (max. 10 rooms and dormitory rooms, max. 30 beds and 60 seats). 

Natural entities must register their activity of accommodating guests in own or rented dwelling or holiday house as well as in other facilities, based on the consent from the competent self-regulatory local community authority, i.e. in the Business Register managed by AJPES.

Prior to this foreigners must arrange: 

• the conditions for residence  permanent or temporary (and report their residence) (e-uprava.gov.si/e-uprava/en/portal.euprava);
• acquire a personal identification number and tax number (www.durs.gov.si/en/angleske_strani/entry_into_the_tax_register_and_tax_number/);
• register their tourist accommodation activity in the Business Register at a AJPES branch unit (www.ajpes.si/Registri/Poslovni_register/Vpis_sobodajalca/Splosno).

Other conditions are also applicable for the accommodation of guests:

• minimum technical conditions for premises, equipment and devices (operating permit in accordance with the law on building – this does not apply for buildings built before 31 December 1967),
• the minimum scope of services, the fulfilment of criteria including the categorisation procedure and appropriate sign board,
• the conditions for ensuring the safety of food and safety and health at work,
• managing appropriate registers (registration and check-out of guests).

Evidence

Extract from the Slovenian Business Register (AJPES) the competent authority acquires it ex officio.

Legal basis

• Companies Act (ZGD-1)
• Hospitality Industry Act (ZGos)
• Rules on the method of registration of landlords in the Slovenian Business Register
• Rules on minimal technical requirements and on the scope of services for hospitality operations

The facility where you plan to perform hospitality activity, must acquire an operating permit.

The operating permit is acquired by submitting an application in person at the administrative branch unit or at the Ministry for Infrastructure and Spatial Planning.

The minimum technical conditions for performing hospitality activity can differ from the prescribed conditions for the reconstruction of facilities that are protected in accordance with the regulations on cultural heritage.

The consent for deviation can be acquired during the building permit or reconstruction permit issue procedure in accordance with the regulations on spatial regulation and facility construction, if the deviation does not endanger the health and life of people.

Evidence

Operating permit: copy

Legal basis

• Hospitality Industry Act (ZGos)

Links

• e-Uprava: Izdaja uporabnega dovoljenja
• Elektronske storitve javne uprave: Vloga za izdajo uporabnega dovoljenja

If holiday houses carry out a hospitality activity, they are considered as hospitality facilities.

A holiday house must have:  

• accommodation rooms (dormitory rooms);
• min. bed sizes 80 cm x 190 cm;
• closets with clothes racks and shelves for clothes, laundry and personal utilities;
• rooms for preparing and serving food and drinks;
• toilets for guests.

If the rooms do not have sinks with running water, a holiday house must have a separate washroom for women and men. If the house has toilets on floors, the washroom can be placed in the toilet foyer.

The holiday house offers: 

• reception and accommodation,
• key storage,
• (board) selection of food and drinks.

Legal basis

• Rules on minimal technical requirements and on the scope of services for hospitality operations
• Hospitality Industry Act (ZGos)

Zagotoviti se mora dnevno čiščenje in vzdrževanje vseh prostorov, ki so na voljo gostu.

The minimum scope of services in individual types of accommodation hospitality facilities refers to services which guests receive at arrival or departure or during their stay in accommodation private and joint rooms, for instance in a dining room.

When welcoming guests you must ensure bed and breakfast, the reception of guests at least 12 hours per day, a contact person who is available 24 hours a day, safe key storage , safe storage for items of value, telephone for external calls, forwarding messages to guests and luggage storage upon guests' wishes.

The rooms must provide clean bed sheets, replacement of bed linen at least once a week, replacement of towels at least every other day or when necessary.

Minimum services that must be provided at the dining room are:

• continental breakfast,
• clean table cloths,
• daily replacement of table cloths or after individual meals,
• if necessary, clean and undamaged dishes,
• glass and cutlery, a visibly marked start and end of service in front of the entrance.

Joint lounge for guests must provide daily newspapers and TV, if the latter is not provided in rooms.

All rooms that are available to guests must be cleaned and maintained every day.

Legal basis

• Hospitality Industry Act (ZGos)
• Rules on minimal technical requirements and on the scope of services for hospitality operations

The obligation to categorise and label accommodation facilities with stars or apples (for farms with accommodation) refers to the following groups of accommodation facilities:

• hotels, motels, boarding houses and guest houses;
• camping grounds;
• holiday apartments and holiday homes;
• rooms;
• farms with accommodation and
• marinas.

Categorisation is not mandatory for inns, mountain huts, youth, holiday, work, and other homes, and youth hostels (IYHF). However, in the event that they meet the conditions for a particular type of accommodation facility that needs to be categorised, they may be categorised in this line NO.

All accommodation facilities that are to be categorised must have a plaque with a marked category in a visible place on the outside of the facility or in the guest reception area, and they also must be labelled with the suitable type and category in their price lists and other marketing and promotional materials.

E-categorisation

In order to facilitate the categorisation procedure, the web application e-categorisation is available.

The procedure begins by registering and logging in. In the event that one accommodation facility includes various accommodation types, the registration and the entire procedure needs to be carried out for each type separately (apartment, room, etc.).

The application e-categorisation is composed of three parts:

• record sheet (for general information on the accommodation facilities and the same type of accommodation units).
• categorisation sheet (to mark the elements that the accommodation units include).
• report (in which the system calculates the achieved category).

The categorisation procedure is successfully concluded once the report is saved. The successfully completed categorisation needs to be printed, signed (and sealed, if applicable), and saved at the accommodation facility.

Considering that the Rulebook defines the self-assessment procedure (1-3 stars and apples) and the assessment procedure (higher categories of stars and apples), the application has been suitably adjusted.

Log-in is enabled for the assessor by means of a special password that is not required for normal users. The system also enables the preliminary verification of the fulfilment of conditions for particular categories in the form of preliminary categorisation which may not substitute normal categorisation. Preliminary categorisation must be suitably selected during the registration procedure. Preliminary categorisation is not formal categorisation, it is only intended to assist in verifying the quality of accommodation faculties. In order to perform formal categorisation, a new registration is required and the entire procedure must be carried out once again.

The Rules on categorisation stipulate that all accommodation facilities up to three stars or apples may perform a self-assessment, but that higher-category accommodation facilities must be assessed by qualified assessors (hotel and camping ground with four or five stars, hotel with four or five stars and the mark "superior", motel, a boarding house and guest house with four stars, a holiday apartment and a holiday house with four stars, a room with four stars, a farm with accommodation with four apples).

Assessors are experts in tourism with many years of experience in tourism who are suitably qualified for assessing accommodation facilities. Each accommodation facility selects an assessor at their own discretion from the register of assessors and makes arrangements for them to assess their accommodation facility.

A special application called Accommodation facility register is available. The application is a publicly accessible list of accommodation facilities that successfully completed the e-categorisation procedure.

Details

A hospitality facility must be visibly marked with the company and head office of the hospitality service provider as well as with the type and name of the facility, the accommodation facility must also display the category.

All signs must be in the Slovenian language. International signs and signs in other languages can be used besides the signs in Slovenian language.

The entry to the hospitality facility and the sign must be lighted during operations at night.

Legal basis

• Hospitality Industry Act (ZGos)
• Rules on minimal technical requirements and on the scope of services for hospitality operations
• Public Use of the Slovene Language Act (ZJRS)

The prices of hospitality services must be readably written on a price list at a visible site or stated on the menu and price list for drinks, and they must be available to guests at all premises and outdoors, where hospitality services are offered.

The price list for drinks must indicate the type, quantity and price of a drink (with the exception of drinks that are served in portions), the menu must indicate the type and price of dishes and the quantity of self-service dishes.

Evidence

Price list or menu and price list for drinks

Legal basis

• Hospitality Industry Act (ZGos)

A hospitality service provider determines the opening hours of their hospitality facility independently in accordance  with their business interests.  If there are several units within a hospitality facility which operate their hospitality activity independently (e.g. a hotel restaurant), the hospitality facility registers the opening hours for each of these units separately.

A hospitality service provider or farmer determines the regular daily opening hours according to the type of their hospitality facility (farm) as follows:

• hospitality facilities offering accommodation to guests and the constituent units of such facilities (e.g. hotel restaurants) and farms with accommodation between 00:00 and 24:00;
• restaurants, inns, coffee shops and tourist farms between 06:00 a.m. and 02:00 the next day;
• pastry shops, snack bars, bars, wine shops and "osmice/osmizza" market taverns between 06:00 and 24:00;
• food preparation and food delivery facilities between 0:00 and 24:00 or according to orders;
• – hospitality facilities in casinos and gaming halls between 00:00 and 24:00, i.e. during their opening hours.

The opening hours of a hospitality facility in a multi-purpose building (shopping centre, business centre etc.) must be determined in advance in accordance with the criteria referred to in the previous paragraph and must not be contrary to the opening hours of the multi-purpose building determined on the basis of the written consent of the majority of the tenants and owners of the business premises.

Hospitality facilities which provide only food and drinks to their guests and which are located in residential premises or in buildings in a residential area and tourist farms in these areas may only operate between 6:00 and 22.00. This also applies to those units of hospitality facilities that offer accommodation and carry out their activities outdoors (gardens of hospitality facilities, hotel terraces, etc.).

When a hospitality facility or a farm carries out a hospitality activity outside the opening hours it is considered to be operating during extended opening hours. The hospitality service provider or farmer may operate during extended opening hours if they obtain written permission from a municipal body responsible for hospitality activity.

The hospitality service provider must notify the municipal body responsible for hospitality activity of its opening hours schedule 15 days before:

• the beginning of the new calendar year for the following calendar year (if there is a change in the basic data of the hospitality facility or farm),
• the start of operations,
• changing their opening hours.

The opening hours are to be declared on the form for declaring the opening hours of a hospitality facility (farm) which forms an annex to the Rules on criteria determining the opening hours of hospitality facilities and farms in which hospitality activity is performed, (Official Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia [Uradni list RS], Nos. 78/99 , 107/00 , 30/06 , 93/07  and 16/21 ).

The municipal authority responsible for hospitality activity validates the application and returns the validated form to the hospitality service provider or farmer within 15 days, keeping one copy for its records and forwarding the other copy to the regional unit of the competent market inspectorate authority.

Opening hours must be displayed in a prominent position at the entrance to the hospitality facility or farm. A notice of temporary closure of the hospitality facility must be displayed in the same way (at least seven days before the planned closure). The hospitality service provider must keep the approved opening hours timetable in the hospitality facility so that it is accessible to the inspection authority. 

In the areas where the indigenous Italian or Hungarian national communities live, the opening hours of businesses must be displayed in Slovenian and in the language of the respective national community.

Evidence

The timetable of opening hours approved by the municipal authority responsible for hospitality activity to be kept by the hospitality service provider in the hospitality facility so that it is accessible to the inspection authority.

Legal basis

• Hospitality Industry Act (ZGos)
• Rules on criteria for determining opening hours of hotels and restaurants and farms at which the activity of hotels and restaurants is carried out
• Decree on the use of minority language of companies in communication with consumers in areas populated from Italian and Hungarian minority

The field of safety and health at work is defined by the principles, rules and activities that must enable an individual (worker) to pursue a successful career with full efficiency and without harm to health from the first day at work to the end of their working life.

In terms of content and scope the definition of health and safety at work covers the rights and duties of employers and employees to ensure, in accordance with the law and other regulations and by defining and considering protection measures to combat or prevent risk and harm at work, the level of safety and health at work appropriate to the nature of work that provides workers with the highest possible level of health, psychological and physical safety.

At the same time, the employer must adjust their measures for managing safety and health at work to changed conditions and permanently improve the existing situation or the level of safety and health at work. More

Evidence

An example of safety statement with risk assessment

Legal basis

• Occupational Health and Safety Act (ZVZD-1)
• Hospitality Industry Act (ZGos)
• Rules on the reports in the field of safety at work
• Rules on regular updating of skills and training in the field of safety and health at work

Food safety requirements:

Safe food is food that, when used as intended, does not present a risk to the health of the consumer. Unsafe food must not be placed on the market. Food is unsafe if it causes harm to health or is unfit for human consumption.

Food is safe if it is:

• produced, processed and placed on the market in accordance with the principles of food hygiene,
• traceable,
• correctly labelled,
• presented in a way that does not mislead the consumer.

Food is safe if it does not contain:

• biological risk factors (pathogenic bacteria, parasites, viruses), 
• chemical risk factors (allergens, pesticide residues, heavy metals, drugs, detergents, unapproved additives and other toxic substances) and  
• physical risk factors (mechanical factors – solid particles, such as pebbles, bones, wood, soil, glass, plastics etc.).

When considering whether or not a food product is safe, the following should be taken into account:

• the normal conditions of use of a food product by the consumer and at each stage of production, processing and distribution, and
• the information provided to the consumer, including information on the label or other information generally available to the consumer concerning the prevention of specific adverse impacts of a particular food or food group on human health.

When considering whether or not a food product is harmful to health, the following should be taken into account:

• the likely immediate and/or short-term and/or long-term effects of a food product on the health of a person consuming the food product and on the health of future generations;
• likely cumulative toxic effects,
• the particular health sensitivities of specific categories of consumers, where the food is intended for that group.

Food safety assurance 

The safety and health compliance of food requires an integrated approach where the fact that food supply is linked to the food chain from farm to fork is taken into account.  It is important that each part of the chain is defined, monitored and managed. Food is and will only be safe if everyone involved in the food chain understands and fulfils their responsibilities.

Food safety is the responsibility of: 

• food business operators who are directly involved in the food chain and who are obliged to put in place a system to ensure food safety within their business at all times,
• the State, which is obliged to provide regulations and a system of official inspections,
• the consumer, who is the last link in the food chain in terms of the final preparation of food in the home kitchen.

Key obligations of food business operators:  

• Safety: Food business operators must not place unsafe food on the market;
• Responsibility: Food business operators are responsible for the safety of the food they produce, transport, store and sell.
• Traceability: Food business operators must be able to quickly identify any supplier or recipient.
• Transparency: Food business operators must inform the competent authorities if they have reasons to believe that their food is not compliant and/or poses a risk to human health.
• Emergency measures: Food business operators must withdraw food from the market immediately if there is a reason to suspect that their food presents a risk to human health.
• Prevention: Food business operators must identify and regularly check the critical points in their processes and ensure that these points are controlled.
• Cooperation: Food business operators must cooperate with the competent authorities in risk reduction procedures.

Duties of a food business operator 

The primary responsibility for producing safe and good quality food lies with food business operators. They are required to put in place an internal control system to ensure food safety in their business at all times.  In accordance with the legislation, internal control must be based on the HACCP system.  

Food business operators must register with the Administration of the Republic of Slovenia for Food Safety, Veterinary Sector and Plant Protection any establishment in which they carry out any activity related to food, with the exception of food supplements or food for specific categories of consumers, no later than 15 days before the start of the activity. In the case of food business establishments producing food supplements or food for specific categories of consumers, the food business establishment must be registered with the Health Inspectorate of the Republic of Slovenia. 

Food business operators register their food business establishments by submitting an application for registration of the establishment by post or in person to the competent regional office of the Administration of the Republic of Slovenia for Food Safety, Veterinary Sector and Plant Protection. The application, further information and contact details of the regional offices are available at the following link:https://www.gov.si/zbirke/storitve/vloga-za-registracijo-zivilskega-obrata/ .

Food business operators are obliged to inform the Administration of the Republic of Slovenia for Food Safety, Veterinary Sector and Plant Protection of any changes no later than 15 days after the change has occurred or the activity has ceased.

Labelling of substances that cause allergies or intolerances

Consumers must be provided with information on allergens in foods sold by mass caterers; allergens must be indicated in at least one of the places where the choice of dishes is presented (e.g. menu, menu boards, display etc.). Information on allergens must be displayed in a prominent place in such a way as to be easily visible, clearly legible and indelible. The labelling must also include the word "contains" followed by the name of the allergen.

Beverages must also be labelled with information on allergens (even in establishments where only beverages are served).

Withdrawal and recall of food

Food business operators must notify the Administration of the Republic of Slovenia for Food Safety, Veterinary Sector and Plant Protection on a withdrawal or recall of all foodstuffs, with the exception of food supplements and foodstuffs for specific categories of consumers, where the notification authority is the Health Inspectorate of the Republic of Slovenia.

The competent office of the Administration of the Republic of Slovenia for Food Safety, Veterinary Sector and Plant Protection (UVHVVR) is to be notified by phone, fax or via e-mail (contact details of regional offices of the UVHVVR ) and to the e-mail address rasff.si@gov.si.

Food business operators must inform consumers of the withdrawal or recall of food in such a way that the information reaches them.  The content of the recall is defined in Annex 1 to the Decree on the implementation of certain EC Regulations concerning foodstuffs, hygiene of foodstuffs and official control of foodstuffs (Official Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia [Uradni list RS], Nos. 72/2010 and 129/20).

More information on ensuring food safety can be found at the following link. 

More information on additives, enzymes, flavourings and extraction solvents can be found at the following link .

Legal basis

• Decree on the implementation of certain Regulations (EC) concerning foodstuffs, hygiene of foodstuffs and official control of foodstuffs
• Act Regulating the Sanitary Suitability of Foodstuff, Products and Materials Coming into Contact with Foodstuffs (ZZUZIS)
• Hospitality Industry Act (ZGos)
• Rules on the registration and approval of food-processing establishments
• Rules determining small quantities of food, conditions for their production and providing for certain derogations for establishments for food of animal origin
• Rules setting out the health requirements to be met by workers coming in contact with foodstuffs
• Act Amending Certain Acts in the Field of Health (ZdZPZ)
• Rules on the safety of quick-frozen foodstuffs
• Rules on official temperature control of fast frozen food
• Regulation of the European Parliament and the Council (EC) no. 852/2004 of 29 April 2004 on food hygiene (2004/852)
• Commission Regulation (EC) No 37/2005 (2005/37)
• Decree implementing the Regulation (EU) on the provision of food information to consumers

Links

• Safe food
• Additives, enzymes and flavors and extraction solvents

Food containing alcohol must clearly indicate on the packaging the alcohol content and a warning that the food is not suitable for children. 

It is prohibited to sell and offer alcoholic beverages and beverages to which alcoholic beverages have been added:

• to persons under 18 years of age;
• to persons who may reasonably be expected to supply them to persons under 18 years of age;
• to persons who exhibit clear signs of intoxication;
• to persons who may reasonably be expected to supply them to persons exhibiting clear signs of intoxication;
• from automatic self-service machines.

The seller or provider may ask any person they believe to be under 18 years of age to prove their age by producing an identity card or other official document. If the person refuses to do so, the alcoholic beverage may not be sold or offered.

The sale of alcoholic beverages is prohibited between 9 p.m. and 7 a.m. of the next day, except in hospitality facilities where the sale of alcoholic beverages is permitted until the end of their opening hours. The sale of spirits in hospitality facilities is prohibited from the start of opening hours until 10 a.m. The prohibition of sale also includes the addition of spirits to non-alcoholic drinks and other beverages.

The prohibition of sale of alcoholic beverages and the time constraint on the sale of alcoholic beverages must be displayed in a prominent location on all premises where alcoholic beverages are sold.

The sale and offer of alcoholic beverages is prohibited:

• in buildings and adjacent areas where education and healthcare activities are performed;
• in sports facilities where sporting events take place, one hour before the sporting event and during the event, and
• during working hours at a workplace.

Sellers of alcoholic beverages must sell at least two different types of non-alcoholic drinks of the same price or cheaper than the cheapest alcoholic beverage.

Legal basis

• Restrictions on the Use of Alcohol Act (ZOPA)

It is prohibited to manufacture and sell cigarettes whose packaging does not state the milligrams of tar, nicotine and carbon monoxide contained in each cigarette. This information must cover at least 10% of the surface area on the side of the packaging.

It is prohibited to sell tobacco products:

• to persons under 18 years of age. Persons under 18 years of age must also not sell tobacco products;
• from vending machines;
• individual cigarettes or tobacco products outside the manufacturer's original packaging;
• tobacco for oral use.

The prohibition on the sale of tobacco products to persons under 18 years of age must be displayed in a prominent location.

The seller may ask any person purchasing tobacco products who they believe to be under 18 years of age to prove their age by producing an official document. If the purchaser refuses to do so, the tobacco products cannot be sold to them.

Smoking is prohibited in all closed public areas and workplaces  and adjacent areas where education activities are performed.

Smoking is allowed:

• in places specially designated for smokers at accommodation facilities and other accommodation providers;
• in homes for the elderly and prisons in areas not intended for common use, provided that only smokers reside therein;
• in areas specially designated for smokers in psychiatric hospitals and in areas specially designated for smokers at other healthcare facilities that provide medical treatment for mental health patients;
• in smoking rooms.

Smoking rooms are not allowed in places where healthcare and educational activities are carried out.

A smoking room shall meet the following conditions:

• the room must be arranged in such a way that smoke-contaminated air cannot flow from it into another room;
• the room must not provide access to other rooms and must not exceed 20 percent of the total area of the public place and/or workplace;
• the room must be intended for smoking only; no food and drink may be served in the room;
• no food or drink may be brought into the room.

Legal basis

• Restriction on the Use of Tobacco Products and Related Products Act (ZOUTPI)
• Rules on the requirements to be met by smoking rooms

A lessor, a person who leases or lets a property, must report an individual who is temporarily accommodated in the tourist or hospitality facility to the competent police station. This obligation and the management of guestbook with a copy does not apply for those lessors who accommodate individuals for overnight stay at mountain huts or shelters, which are not normally accessible by road.

A lessor who temporarily accommodates guests in tourist and hospitality facilities, must keep a guestbook with a copy. For managing a guestbook, the lessor must lodge an application for the issue of the decision on the method of keeping records on guests and exporting data.

A guestbook with a copy can be managed manually or electronically (within the scope of the HISTOR system, e-guest systems or on a floppy disc). Manual guestbook management means that the lessor personally registers the guest at the competent police station, while electronic management through the HISTOR system means that the lessor registers the guest at the competent police station electronically, which is described in greater detail on www.policija.si/portal/eGost/index.php.

A lessor must submit the guestbook with a copy to the competent administrative unit for certification.

Data from the guestbook must be kept for one year from the date of entry of the individual in the register, and then they must be destroyed. If the register is kept manually, the lessor must make appropriate minutes of destruction, while in the case of electronically managed guest register, data must be deleted from software and backup copies must also be destroyed.

An individual who is temporarily accommodated in a tourist or hospitality facility, is arranged by the lessor at the locally competent police station in 12 hours upon arrival, regardless of the duration of accommodation.

The competent administrative unit can determine a longer deadline for application if the lessor cannot fulfil their registration obligation in the prescribed time, which cannot exceed three days, due to the remoteness from the location of the police station.

An individual must send the lessor, where they are temporarily accommodated, the following data:

• surname and name,
• personal identification number, date of birth, gender for those who are not citizens of the Republic of Slovenia,
• place of birth,
• permanent residence address (for an address in the Republic of Slovenia, they must provide the municipality, place, street, house number with additional sign, and apartment sign; for an address abroad they must send data on the state, place, street and house number),
• citizenship, date of registration and the number of the public document which also contains a photograph issued by the national authority.

The lessor has the right to an insight in the public document to verify the identity of the individual and the truthfulness of provided data. An individual also fills out the form "Registration – check in and out of guest".

The lessor enters the data from the registration or check out form in the guestbook with a copy.

Evidence

Guestbook

Legal basis

• Residence Registration Act (ZPPreb-1)
• Rules on check-ins and check-outs of guests
• Hospitality Industry Act (ZGos)