A Reversed Historic House Museum: the Yugodom Rental Apartment in Belgrade

Abstract

Following social, cultural and economic developments in the world of contemporary tourism, “Airbnb” service for peer-to-peer short term lodging rental emerged as a major player in tourism accommodation business. Many available units are in fact historic house museums, sourcing their hospitality attractiveness in the same qualities outlined by the “classic” historic house museums – authenticity and interconnections between space, landscape, inhabitants and collections with the broader cultural context. This paper seeks to examine the impact of the “Airbnb” system on the development of reversed historic house museums by bringing up the case of Yugodom – short term stay accommodation in downtown Belgrade. Term reversed historic house museums describes spaces that do not tell the story based on the former inhabitants and their impact on broader socio cultural milieu, but spaces that are created as live-in museums for the sole purpose of providing tourist accommodation. Due to its unique interior design based on the aesthetics of former Yugoslavia, Yugodom has been perceived by the tourists and both local and international media as a museum space, showcasing the authentic Yugoslav home. While describing how this live-in museum was created, this paper will contextualize and examine the potential of reversed historic house museums in enriching both tourism and museum scene of the destination.