A 20-year contractual licence for hotels Larix and Grand hotel Prisank, which are now called the Ramada Resort Kranjska Gora and the Ramada Hotel & Suites Kranjska Gora, became effective on 1 January.

"The trademark is of key significance if we wish to additionally attract certain target markets," Simona Mele of Hit, the gaming company owning the two hotels, told reporters on Wednesday.

This was echoed by Maarten Boers, the CEO of the Hit Alpinea subsidiary, who labelled Kranjska Gora as one of the world's best kept secrets. Although the resort is well known for the annual men's World Cup ski races, nobody actually knows where it is, Boers said.

According to him, the answer to this problem is good destination management that sends out a clear message: "We're right around the corner and we have the same quality as the big resorts but at a lower price!"

Hit Alpinea is estimated to have increased revenue by 3% last year and recorded 7.4% more stays than the year before, while it managed to reduce loss by 19%.

The new franchises are of great importance to Wyndham Group as well. Kranjska Gora is their second ski resort in Europe, but they also want to promote it as a summer holiday destination, Edvin Broers of the Wyndham Hotel Group told the press.

There are no takeovers or other deals on the horizon yet for other Kranjska Gora hotels owned by Hit, said Mele but hinted that negotiations were ongoing.