Alexander Handelsman Biography

We talked with the co -owner of the hotel company Zont Hotel Group, an expert at the Russian Restaurateurs and Hoteliers by Alexander Gandelsman and discussed the main challenges for Russian hoteliers, a lack of mass Chinese tourists and why you should not wait for a reduction in domestic tourism prices. At what point is the hotel industry now right now and what are its development prospects?

Sometimes everything is so good that I'm afraid to jinx it. Of course, hoteliers of closed directions such as Anapa and Gelendzhik may become complained, but millionaire cities, Russian historical cities such as Pskov, Tula, Smolensk, or Russian pearls like Altai and Baikal, they all experience a good rise in hotel loading and hold a good price level. The opinions of people from the industry are divided into three parts: there are hotels who are inspired and think that they have not yet reached the peak, there are those who think that there will be a decline further.

The third group believes that this is a kind of plateau on which we will be in the same mode for a long time. I have not yet decided which camp I am adjacent to, because there are ambiguous signals, such as cheaper international directions, for example, Türkiye. But there are positive signals - this is an increasing number of trips according to mobile operators.

Movement around the country was activated for various reasons. After all, tourism is not only entertainment, but also business tourism and cognitive. There are different signals, and I want to believe that we are at least on the plateau and that our prospects for the medium-long-long period are not bad. Recently, the national project "Tourism" was launched - the state intends to invest in a tourist.

It is assumed that by the year in the country there should be thousands. In fact, this is a doubling of the license plate. Why do you think so much optimism-due to the fact that in the next ten years the average Russian resident will not be able to afford to go abroad? Now, when for various reasons people cannot go abroad, it is very important to show what Russia is, and teach people to relax here.

It is very important for our economy to switch to the American tourism model, when the vast majority of citizens are resting within the country. It seems to me that this is a very correct trend - to show, train, open for people new places now, when there is such an opportunity. Why discuss the reasons - let's use the investigation! Accordingly, this requires numbers. And what is happening with the infrastructure now?

It is actively created, there are many options for investment, co -investment: “Tourism. But I would note the two main things. The first is the abundance of VAT. We do not have to give money, we have enough of this.

But, having said “a”, the state should say “b”. They introduced this measure for five years, but five years - this is very little for the hotel industry. The living cycle of the hotel, before it must be completely renovated, is from ten to 15 years. In the year, the zero rate on operational activities will end, and then what? Here we need long -term. And what is the second thing that the state carried out?

There is a decree that is to reduce the preferential rate on the construction of new facilities. But this is accompanied by a big problem - it is that you cannot buy an object for a subsidized rate. That is, you can renovate your object to a subsidized rate, you can build an object for a subsidized rate, and you can no longer buy and renovate. It turns out that this preferential rate does not apply to people who want to invest in existing hotels and then renovate them.

This, of course, is not a half -timer, but these are two -thirds of measures. We need a little more support so that we can plan and provide the necessary services for a long time, build new numbers, renovate and, accordingly, delight our guests-Russian guests. RF " - a state corporation with ambitious goals. How do you evaluate her work? You can in different ways to evaluate the effectiveness of the selection of projects by them, but in any case it is good that such an institution has appeared.

But the big problem, in my opinion, lies in another - in the absence of a specialized tourism body, it is now engaged in the Ministry of Economic Development, which already has something to do. For them, tourism is another of the areas of economic development. Maybe it sounds naive, but each industry would like more attention from the state. Summarizing, I will say that we are already happy with existing support measures, but there is where to strive.

In addition to obvious advantages for hotel business owners, what are the lack of international competition in the long run? Any absence or decrease in competition can negatively affect the quality of the services provided. And we must be aware that when the borders open or the ruble exchange rate will change, and Russians will be able to go abroad without restrictions, our service should not only be no worse, it must exceed expectations.By that time, people should get used to such a service and choose us not because they cannot go somewhere, but because we are ideal from the point of view of the service: we have tastier food, the waiters are more disgraceful, the maids are cleaned, our batteries are better than American and so on.

It is very important against the background of the lack of foreign competition with other markets not to lose the quality of services, and this, of course, is a challenge. What is the level of service, hospitality as a whole in Russia now? How can you evaluate it and as the owner of the hotel business, and as a client? Competition is still inside popular areas, and it makes you support a high level of service.

Moreover, our “five” are definitely one of the best “five” at least in Europe. Our "four" are also one of the best in Europe and Asia in terms of service. So far, there are problems with our three -star hotels, because the Russian “treshka” is a kind of story. We have learned to provide service and support it without foreign methodology and brands. We replaced foreign systems for assessing the level of quality by Russian.

I think the level of service will only grow, despite the difficulties with personnel, the absence of specialized educational institutions or non -relevant educational programs in tourist universities. The best practice in this industry is to study for six months, to work for six months. What is the education in the tourism industry today, do already trained specialists come out of universities or employees should be grown already inside their business?

No one leaves the university ready. On the basis of operating standards, training begins, this is daily practice. We generally believe that the best company for the selection of staff is your own. We always try to raise personnel at home. There are operating standards, there are training instructions, we have a fairly powerful staff service and there are also outsourcing coaches.

There are a lot of training companies in hotel business in Russia. Hoteliers operate differently, but it’s easier for us to take an unused diamond from the street, without any professional skills, and then a person goes a way, for example, from an interns on the reception and accommodation stand to a high-level manager. There is a common opinion that hotels in Russia are more expensive than, for example, in Thailand, respectively, traveling to some places in Russia is still more expensive than many international directions.

Why so, and will it be different in the near future, when the license platform will increase? I think, the purchasing power of an average Russian tourist will increase rather than to somehow decrease tourism prices in Russia. You understand that all these prices are not taken from the ceiling. They are caused by the high cost of labor in Russia, the high cost of food raw materials.

Compared with Turkey, then our labor resources cost 30 percent more expensive. Our food for restaurants cost about the same. But, if we compare Russian wine with some South American, Russian is always more expensive. The question is why. Because they just started investing. Because the key rate is higher because the loan is only ten years, and not on and so on. Therefore, we live, what we live with - I'm afraid these services will not be cheaper.

Or another fall will occur, as after Covid. Then the prices fell strongly, and in the year prices exceeded, since everyone needed to return the losses. I’m probably not even about remote regions like Kamchatka or Baikal. I am rather about the fact that hotels in the same Red Polyana in the season are simply fantastic, and even in the current conditions, it’s like two trips to Turkey or Vietnam.

We have dynamic pricing - respectively, the higher the demand, the higher the price. As soon as the demand “multiplies” in Russia - with the opening of Anapa airports, Gelendzhik - prices in Sochi will fall. As soon as Sheregesh rebuilt normally and the airport will be made there, the prices for the winter in Krasnaya Polyana will also decrease. That is, it is a dynamic balance. To serve a large number of people, I need more staff.

Accordingly, salaries are growing, because hotels begin to tear out the shots from each other. More water and electricity are consumed, repairs must be done more often. The only thing that costs do not grow is the products. The reverse proportion works here - the more you buy, the on average it turns out. Summarizing, all this is a harsh need for maintaining the quality of the services provided.

When the number of license plates in Russia grows up, yes, something can decrease. Are they included in the register of hotels, or is it some separate direction in the hotel business? Why do you think exactly in Russia they gained such popularity? Yes, this is a niche segment inside the hotel business.