Rijeka gathered more than 80 landlords at an education session on private accommodation, taxes, fiscalization and the market

More than 80 landlords from Rijeka at an education session in the City Council chamber: private accommodation requires more and more knowledge, and less and less room for mistakes

Private landlords in Rijeka are increasingly clearly facing the fact that renting is no longer a business that can be run solely on the basis of a good location and a proper relationship with the guest. Administrative obligations, tax rules, digital tools and regulatory changes have become an integral part of the everyday life of those participating in the city’s tourism offer. That is precisely why the education session held on 21 April 2026 in the City Council chamber, organized by the Rijeka Tourist Board and the Family Accommodation Advisory Service Interligo d.o.o., attracted more than 80 private landlords. The turnout confirms that among service providers there is a strong need for professional and timely information, but also that the quality of private accommodation today is no longer built only through a well-kept apartment, but also through orderly, lawful and competitive business operations.

The two-hour lecture focused on practical issues that landlords most often encounter in their everyday work. According to the education programme, participants had the opportunity to obtain an overview of the most common mistakes in private accommodation business operations, guidance on simpler management of administrative and tax obligations, and explanations about current regulatory novelties. The focus was on issuing invoices and e-invoices, issues related to VAT, fiscalization, and the assignment and use of registration numbers. These are topics that may seem technical at first glance, but in practice they often determine whether operations will run smoothly or whether accommodation owners will unnecessarily lose time, money and confidence in their work.

Tourism quality today is also measured through administrative orderliness

In recent years, Rijeka has been systematically trying to strengthen its position as an urban destination that does not live only from the seasonal peak, but develops a year-round and more diverse tourism offer. In that model, private accommodation has an important role because it often represents the guest’s first contact with the destination, especially when it comes to shorter stays, business trips, cultural events and city break arrivals. The quality of that segment does not depend exclusively on the equipment and location of the property, but also on how prepared the host is to respond to changes in the legislative and market environment.

For quite some time, the Rijeka Tourist Board has been developing a special information area for landlords on its official pages, with overviews of legal and administrative obligations, financial issues, guest registration and records, as well as topics related to promotion and accommodation quality. Such an approach shows that the local tourism administration does not view private landlords as a passing addition to the offer, but as an important part of the city’s overall competitiveness. When this is combined with the interest shown by more than 80 participants, it becomes clear that in Rijeka an increasingly serious circle of landlords is being formed who want to keep up with changes and raise the professional standard of their own business.

For a city that wants to retain guests for longer than one day, it is important that accommodation be reliable, transparent and well organized. For the guest, of course, the impression of the space matters, but equally so do the speed of communication, proper registration, clarity of invoices, a sense of security and the overall impression of professionalism. That is precisely why education sessions like this have a broader effect than mere technical assistance to landlords. They indirectly affect the reputation of the destination as well, because they raise standards in the segment that the guest experiences most directly. Those who come to Rijeka because of business obligations, concerts, sports events, cultural programmes or a weekend city tour will often form their first and most concrete opinion about the city precisely through private accommodation, and therefore also about the overall offer, including accommodation in Rijeka that they seek when planning their stay.

From eVisitor to tax obligations: less and less room for improvisation

The topics covered at the education session were not chosen by chance. The Croatian tourism and tax business system has for years been moving toward greater digitization, clearer traffic monitoring and stricter alignment of obligations. The eVisitor system, which serves for guest check-in and check-out and for keeping records of tourist traffic, remains the basic tool for accommodation providers in Croatia. The official pages of the system and state institutions clearly state that the registration and deregistration of tourists is carried out precisely through that channel, which means that the formal part of the business can no longer be run superficially or postponed without risk. For landlords, in practice, this means that digital literacy and an understanding of procedures are no longer an additional advantage, but a basic prerequisite for work.

An even more sensitive area relates to invoices, tax obligations and fiscalization. In April 2026, the Tax Administration additionally updated explanations related to the fiscalization of e-invoices, emphasizing that Fiscalization 2.0 introduces an automated process of extracting prescribed data from issued and received e-invoices and delivering them to the Tax Administration. At the same time, the official guide states that through the MIKROeRAČUN application, during 2026, the receipt and fiscalization of the receipt of e-invoices will be enabled, while from 1 January 2027 the issuing and fiscalization of the issuing of e-invoices is also planned. Such changes do not mean that all private landlords are under the same obligation, but they do mean that understanding the system has become important even for those who are only assessing how their business may develop in the coming years.

That is precisely why education sessions that simultaneously cover VAT, fiscalization, invoices and registration marks have practical value. Many small landlords operated for years in conditions in which it was enough to know a few basic rules, but today the situation is significantly more complex. The difference between what is an obligation for one accommodation provider and what is not an obligation for another often depends on the business model, status in the VAT system, method of payment or expansion of activities. In such an environment, the most dangerous thing is to rely on word of mouth and partial information. The participants in the education session in Rijeka therefore did not come only to listen to a lecture, but above all to gain confidence that they are basing business decisions on verified and professional interpretations.

The interest of landlords shows that the market is changing

The strong turnout of private landlords can also be read as a signal of a broader change in the market. Analyses by the Rijeka Tourist Board of tourism indicators point to continuous growth in accommodation capacities, the number of business entities engaged in tourism, and overnight stays in the city area, with a visible shift toward demand for higher-quality accommodation of higher categories. This means that hosts are in a space that is simultaneously full of opportunities and increasingly demanding. Competition is greater, guest expectations are growing, and the regulatory framework is becoming more detailed.

For private accommodation, in practice, this means that it no longer competes only on price, but also on the level of orderliness in business operations. Guests compare offers more easily, react more quickly to poor communication and tolerate unclear procedures less and less. On the other hand, a well-organized host can more easily build trust, achieve better ratings and create recognizability on the market. Education sessions like this are therefore not merely a formal addition to the work of the tourist board, but part of the process of professionalizing small-scale tourism, in which knowledge becomes an important tool just like the location of the property.

This is also important for Rijeka itself, which does not build its tourism position on the model of a mass seasonal holiday, but on a combination of urban identity, the cultural scene, business events, history, gastronomy and increasingly strong weekend tourism. In such a destination, private accommodation must be flexible and adapted to different guest profiles, from business visitors to families, individual travellers and event visitors. Because of this, the need for quality information about the offer, location and accessibility is also growing, so it is no coincidence that when planning a stay people increasingly seek an accommodation offer in Rijeka that is clearly connected with the event venue, the city’s amenities and transport accessibility.

Questions from practice often reveal the biggest problems

One of the most valuable parts of meetings like this is usually not only the lecture block, but also the time reserved for questions. That was the case this time as well, when after the educational part the organizers left room for landlords to present concrete situations from their own practice. It is precisely in these discussions that it is most clearly visible where the system creates the greatest uncertainty. Regulations may be available, instructions published, and digital tools formally simple, but when all this is applied to a real situation, numerous interpretations and doubts arise. Differences between individual business models, taxpayer status, advertising methods or payment methods very quickly raise the question of what exactly applies to a specific landlord.

Such a format of education has special value because it gives people the opportunity to get answers that are not general. In the private accommodation segment, nuances are often precisely what is decisive. One detail in documentation, one incorrectly issued invoice or a misunderstanding of an obligation can lead to problems that are financially and organizationally sensitive for small landlords. Because of this, professional counselling cannot be reduced only to publishing regulations on a website. Face-to-face communication is also needed, where rules are translated into concrete life situations.

For the organizers, this is also feedback about what challenges the field is really facing. The tourist board thus not only gets the opportunity to convey information, but also to hear where the greatest ambiguities are among the people who make up an important part of the city’s offer. This is especially important in a period when, at the national level, there is discussion about regulating short-term rentals, controlling unregistered activity and the further development of the legislative framework of hospitality. In such a context, the local level has the role of a bridge between state rules and the everyday life of citizens who must implement those regulations.

A new lecture announced as well: small-scale tourism facing new challenges

Continuity may be the most important message of the entire initiative. The Rijeka Tourist Board has already announced a new expert lecture that will be held on 4 May 2026 in the City Council chamber starting at 17:30, this time in cooperation with Nedo Pinezić. The title of the lecture, “Small-scale tourism – where to next?”, clearly shows that the focus will not be only on technical obligations, but also on strategic thinking about the future of small-scale tourism. According to the organizers’ announcement, at the centre will be an overview of key challenges and opportunities, the impact of global developments, new business models, the importance of connecting stakeholders and the role of digital marketing in strengthening competitiveness.

Such a topic comes at a time when small landlords, not only in Rijeka but more broadly as well, are trying to find a balance between increasingly strict rules, market uncertainty and the need to remain visible and sustainable. Global developments, from changes in traveller habits to rising costs and strengthening digital competition, are spilling over directly into the local market as well. That is why the question “where to next” is not merely a promotional announcement, but a real dilemma for many hosts who want to continue operating while preserving profitability and service quality.

It is also important that the organizers are announcing space for questions after the lecture. This points to a working model in which expert education is not a one-way transmission of information, but a dialogue with those who are confronted daily with concrete problems. For Rijeka, which is gradually expanding the profile of visitors and the tourism motives for arrival, maintaining such a dialogue could be just as important as the development of infrastructure itself or the promotion of the city. Those who at the beginning of May will be coming because of the lecture, business meetings or other city amenities will again be looking for accommodation near the event venue in Rijeka, which additionally shows how directly private accommodation is connected with the functioning of the destination.

Rijeka is building a model in which private landlords are not left to fend for themselves

The most important impression after the education session held on 21 April is that Rijeka is trying to build a model in which private landlords are not left to fend for themselves in navigating regulations and market changes. Such an approach does not solve all problems, but it reduces the room for mistakes and increases the possibility that small accommodation providers will react in a timely way to new system requirements. At a time when tourism activity relies ever more on digital administration, tax compliance and professional communication with guests, education is becoming part of the basic infrastructure of tourism, just as important as promotion or the development of amenities.

For private landlords, the message is fairly clear. Those who want to remain competitive will have to follow business rules just as seriously as they follow guests’ needs. For the city, it is equally clear that without quality, informed and stable private accommodation there can be no convincing urban tourism offer. That is why the interest shown by more than 80 participants is not only data about a well-attended workshop, but also an indicator that small-scale tourism in Rijeka is increasingly being understood as a serious economic and development segment, and not as a secondary activity that can be run without constant learning, adaptation and professionalization.

The most important topics that marked the education session and the announced new lecture:

• the most common mistakes in private accommodation business operations and ways to avoid them
• administrative and tax obligations of landlords in practice
• issuing invoices and e-invoices, including issues of fiscalization and VAT
• assignment and use of registration numbers and orderly business management
• the impact of global trends and new business models on small-scale tourism
• the importance of connecting stakeholders and digital marketing for strengthening competitiveness

Sources:

• Rijeka Tourist Board – official information about the board’s work, news and activities aimed at developing the city’s tourism offer (link)
• Visit Rijeka / Corner for landlords – an overview of legal, administrative, financial and operational information intended for private landlords in Rijeka (link)
• Visit Rijeka / Guest registration and records – official information for landlords about stay registration, guest records and related obligations (link)
• Croatian Tourist Board – an explanation of the eVisitor system as the central digital system for guest check-in and check-out in Croatia (link)
• gov.hr – official description of the procedure for registering and deregistering tourists via the eVisitor system (link)
• Tax Administration – information for landlords renting to tourists, with practical questions about tax obligations and the use of digital tools (link)
• Tax Administration – updated explanation on the fiscalization of e-invoices and obligations within Fiscalization 2.0 (link)
• Tax Administration – guide through Fiscalization 2.0, including information on the MIKROeRAČUN application and deadlines for implementing individual functionalities (link)
• Ministry of Tourism and Sports – official pages with an overview of regulations in the field of tourism and hospitality relevant to landlords (link)
• Narodne novine – publication of amendments to the Hospitality Activities Act, important for understanding the regulatory framework in which landlords operate (link)
• Visit Rijeka – analysis of tourism indicators of the city of Rijeka with an overview of the development of accommodation capacities, arrivals and overnight stays and trends in the structure of accommodation (link)