Three styles of refunctionalization in Historic Housing Tourism

Resumo

Aims | The aim of this paper is to explain the three styles of refunctionalisation used by owners/hosts of guesthouses when running their hotel business. The aim is to describe each of the accommodation offers and to show that the behaviour of the hosts is more passive or active depending on the style of refunctionalisation adopted. The implications for the identity of the manor houses also vary according to the style of refunctionalisation chosen.

Methodology | Grounded Theory (GT) is a general inductive methodological approach (quantitative or qualitative) that enables the systematic generation of theory from systematic research. (Grounded Theory Institute, 2008). GT comprises a set of methodological phases (see figure 1): (1) identification of the substantive area of the study; (2) collection of data relating to the substantive area; (3) open coding of the data as we collect it; (4) writing memos throughout the process; (5) selective coding and theoretical sampling; (6) sorting of memos to find the theoretical code(s) that best organise the substantive codes; (7) reading and integrating literature into our theory by means of selective coding; (8) theoretical writing (Scott, 2009). In this paper, the study focused on the perspective of hosts/owners of manor houses (53 in total), which had been converted into Historic Housing Tourism enterprises. The sorting of memos to find theoretical codes enabled us to relate categories and their properties into an integrated theory around a core category. This sorting effort resulted in a combination of theoretical codes. One of the theoretical codes developed by Braga (2016) was three styles of manor house refunctionalisation ("classic"; "hybrid" and "modern") which will be analysed here. 

Main findings and contributions | The characteristics of refunctionalisation styles in Historic Housing tourism are presented here. The classic style is characterised by accommodation in the main house, a more genuine identity for the house and a basic bed & breakfast type of accommodation. This style of refunctionalisation is typically promoted by the iniciator host. In the hybrid refunctionalisation style, accommodation is either in the main house and outbuildings or in outbuildings only. This style is aimed at guests who are sensitive and insensitive to the way their accommodation is run. Finally, the last style of refunctionalisation is the modern style. Its characteristics are that it is less genuine (it has a contemporary feel). On the other hand, the accommodation proposal is more differentiated (similar to a boutique hotel). This style of refunctionalisation is typical of the continuing host.

Limitations | The vast majority of the owners/hosts interviewed in this research owned manor houses in the Minho region, especially in the municipality of Ponte de Lima. In fact, the type of sampling used in grounded theory is theoretical sampling, which does not correspond to probabilistic sampling. As a result, other traditional Portuguese provinces such as Trás-os-Montes and Alto Douro, the Beiras, the Alentejo, Lisbon and the Tagus Valley, the Algarve and the islands are under-represented in the sample.

Conclusions | The classical style of accommodation opts for proximity while remaining in the improvisation phase, and thus differs in that it does not enter the professionalisation phase. The hybrid style, on the other hand, allows for greater autonomy, which allows for longer stays. This style can also reduce prices, since the fixed costs of self-sufficiency are lower, since the structure of the outbuildings is more modern. Finally, in the modern style there tends to be less close contact than in the classic style and there is greater autonomy for the guest. In this type of accommodation, the house is more integrated with its surroundings.

References

Braga J. L. (2016). Refuncionalizando a Casa Solarenga: uma Grounded Theory. Ph.D. thesis. Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, Santiago de Compostela. Retrieved from https://minerva.usc.es/xmlui/handle/10347/14805

Braga, J. L. (2021). Implicações da identidade da casa solarenga para a prática de turismo de habitação. Revista Turismo & Desenvolvimento, 36(2), 201-214. https://doi.org/10.34624/rtd.v36i2.10675

Braga, J.L., Magalhães, M., Brás, S., Silva, A., Mota, C. (2022). Means of Enhancing the Visibility of Historic Housing Tourism. In: Carvalho, J.V.d., Liberato, P., Peña, A. (eds) Advances in Tourism, Technology and Systems. Smart Innovation, Systems and Technologies, vol 284. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-9701-2_34

Braga, J.L., Silva, O. (2022). Considerations About the Economic Sustainability of Historic Housing Tourism. In: Leitão, J., Ratten, V., Braga, V. (eds) Tourism Entrepreneurship in Portugal and Spain. Tourism, Hospitality & Event Management. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-89232-6_5

Grounded Theory Institute (2008). What is grounded theory? http://www.groundedtheory.com/what-is-gt.aspx

Pereiro, X. (2018). Abordagem exploratória do turismo rural de Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro (Portugal). Análise Social, 53(226), 58-87. Retrieved from:  http://analisesocial.ics.ul.pt/documentos/n226a03.pdf

Scott, H. (2009). How do you do grounded theory? Grounded Theory Online. http://www.groundedtheoryonline.com/what-is-grounded-theory/

Silva, L. (2010). Perspectiva antropológica do turismo de habitação. Pasos: Revista de Turismo y Patrimonio Cultural, 8(1), 31-46. Retrieved from: http://www.pasosonline.org/Publicados/8110/PS0110_3.pdf