Accommodation since the 1960s
In the year 1963 Hija and Väino Pekonen established Youth Hostel to earn some extra money for their family. The idea of entering the tourism industry had been developing for a while and now it was time to make the idea come true.
1963-1970: Affordable beds in a shared room
Hilja and Väinö dedicated their house´s upstairs rooms for travelers while the family lived downstairs. During that time there were 8-10 bunk beds in one room and you could rent a bed at a very affordable price.
Ten years later Hilja and Väinö built 10 small cottages on their premises. They also renovated their barn into a service building with toilets, showers, and saunas.
During these years Hilja and Väinö built a regular customer base of travelers visiting them every year. Some of the regulars became very dear friends.
1980-1990: New winds, new energy
In 1982 Hija and Väinö decided to retire and their son Pentti took over the business with her wife Paula.
Hilja and Väinö had built a good base for Paula and Pentti from which to overtake and grow the business and serve different kinds of tourists.
In the 80s Spring was the most important season of the year. Bus groups enjoyed the full service for one week each: Breakfast, lunch to go: (sandwiches, and hot drinks in a thermos), dinner with traditional Lappish dishes, and an evening snack to seal the deal. The family´s living room transformed into a dining hall for 55 people and Paula was in charge of the cooking.
Sometimes even the children´s rooms were in use to get all of the travelers a place to sleep. Fortunately, grandma Hilja and grandpa Väinö were happy to get small visitors for those weeks.
1990-2000: Families, school groups, and canoeing
In the late 80s travelers asked for accommodation with private bathrooms. Paula and Pentti responded to this and three new cottages were built. In addition to that, the family´s wood shed and garage were renovated into three double rooms in our yard.
In Finland, it is a tradition that schools make a one-week field trip as part of their education in grades 5 and 8. The demand for such group service grew in the 80s and '90s. This was the next area of focus as it widened the high season from Spring to Autumn:
- A log house was built on the premises to serve groups as they can all gather in one place.
- Pentti took travel guidance courses to guide the groups
- Paula and Pentti invested in canoes and paddling gear. Thus a whole school group could go paddling and admire the body of water starting from Lomamaja Pekonen´s shore.
2000-2010: Apartments with a sauna and renovations to increase coziness
In the 1990s families traveled together, but now more and more couples are traveling without children. As the decade was changing Paula and Pentti noticed a new wish among the travelers: cottages with a sauna.
It was time to grow again. Six new apartments were built. These apartments feature a double room with a combined kitchen /living room and as a bonus, a bathroom with a private sauna. The apartments have been very popular, not just because of the saunas, but also because of the beautiful view from them over to the lake of Muonio.
Earlier on tourism consisted of seasons, some of them full of work and others very quiet. Now there are travelers throughout the year. In 2010 it was time to give up services for the groups and concentrate more on individual travelers. The older accommodation was renovated and renewed putting effort into the coziness of the accommodation. New caravan places were also added to the premises.
2020-: Next-generation and digital uplift
In 2019 Paula and Pentti retired and their son Arto took over.
As the popularity of hiking, trekking, and mountain biking grows, at the same time the demand for comfort and easiness increases.
Arto has taken steps to modernize and digitalize the processes. One example of this is the launch of the online store to ease the booking.
After all these decades the basic values stated by granny Hilja are still in use:
- Clean
- Cozy
- Inexpensive
