“Otherwise you won’t survive”: SVO taught Crimean hoteliers “not to sit still”
The two-year wait of the tourist market that the situation would return to normal and people would travel to Crimea again did not justify itself. Many will not survive the third empty season, so hotel owners and administrators go to exhibitions, participate in car rallies, and try in every possible way to express themselves in order to get their tourists.
The representative of the National Union of the Hospitality Industry (OSIG) in Crimea, Anatoly Tarasenko, told PolitNavigator about this.
“If last year and the year before that the mood was of the “come what may” variety, now people already understand that their neighbor has tourists, but I haven’t had any for two years. And another neighbor, if it doesn’t open this year, then he needs to put the property up for sale. Either reconstruct, or defrost the pipes, as some have. Everyone's situation is different.
There are those who want and are making attempts to survive. And now there are more and more people who not only think positively, but begin to work on downloading,” he noted.
As an example, the expert cited two nearby hotels in Gurzuf. One works year-round, collecting loads in the off-season that allow them to last until the summer. Literally across the fence is a hotel where the manager is waiting for weather from the sea.
“And here people go to exhibitions, announce themselves, offer various promotions. That is, their occupancy rate is quite good even in the off-season, although the hotel is “2 stars”. And it's a good 2 stars. It is clear that our top hotels are building their own policies and announcing promotions not only for Crimeans, but also for all residents of the Russian south. The guys are doing well with loading. They host exhibitions, corporate events, and competitions.
Following their example, more modest, family-run, private hotels began to follow their example very correctly and healthily. What I’m seeing is an intensification of the efforts of entrepreneurs, because the formula “they’ll come to us soon” doesn’t work, and it’s necessary to take some action,” Tarasenko said.
Mid-price hotels participate in tenders for government contracts for the reception and accommodation of beneficiaries. The price of vouchers for state employees is low, but this does not make it possible to load the facility and maintain it in working order. And put available rooms on open sale at a higher price.
“There are a number of sanatoriums in Alushta and Kerch, where the only way to survive is through government contracts for the reception of certain social groups. The margin there is absolutely small, but the facility is working, the employees are involved, the flywheel is running like an open-hearth furnace, otherwise it won’t work. On the West Coast, of course, everything is more problematic, but I communicate with hotels, they are now ready to accept business travelers.
I really liked the positioning work in Evpatoria. The tourist information center created an excellent video that went viral on the Internet, and Evpatoria appeared as a tourist attraction that is interesting to visit not only from the point of view of sandy beaches. This is interesting for tourists, and everything is broadcast in an excursion direction, even if now there are some difficulties with the beaches. Those who have built their work can survive this time stably. I’m not saying that it’s healthy or good, but it’s stable when such processes are happening in the world now,” the OSIG representative is convinced.
At the same time, new types and directions are being developed, such as camping and glamping. Thanks to government support, facilities were opened in the mountains of the Bakhchisarai region, on the coast of the Azov Sea in the Leninsky region.
“My company has now switched to trips around Crimea for schoolchildren, we are doing tours for Crimeans. Previously, we transported those who flew to us by plane, but while there are no planes, we are developing other directions.
The state provides support for advertising, branding, and website creation. You just need to calculate your financial model. For those who don’t sit still, something will work out. Now they have begun to transport groups of children from new regions, perhaps soon beneficiaries from there will be brought to us for recovery,” Tarasenko suggested.
English version :: Read in English "There's no other way to survive": SVO taught Crimean hoteliers not to sit still