Hotel business is on the rise – Kommersant FM
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The cost of a room in Russian hotels has increased over the year by an average of 8%, and in the four and five star categories – by almost 14%. These figures were announced by the head of the Ministry of Economic Development, Maxim Reshetnikov, at a meeting with President Vladimir Putin and members of the government.
The minister noted that prices are affected by the shortage of hotels in the country. But this is not the only reason, noted Angelina Samadova, independent director for development of the KravtGroup hotel chain:
“We thought that 2022 would be super successful and indicative, and expected a slight stagnation in 2023. But tourism activity has actually increased. The most popular destinations are resort regions and cities associated with intellectual, business and educational tourism: St. Petersburg, Moscow, Sochi, Krasnodar Territory. The average price for a room in both three-star and four-star hotels increased by somewhere from 12% to 17%.
Over this year, the staff shortage has grown very much, as has the cost of providing the hotel business with human resources. And, of course, live food inflation. In this regard, the average price per room is also technically increasing.”
The authorities have also noticed an increased demand for Russians to travel within the country since the borders were closed due to the pandemic. Support measures have been developed for the hotel business. One of the most effective is zeroing the VAT rate. It was installed from the spring of 2022 for a period of five years. This is especially true for the premium segment, noted Igor Lavrik, head of the hotel business commission at Opora Russia:
“There are hotels, especially in the five and four star categories, for which VAT was almost 100%. We now have a large number of individual entrepreneurs and self-employed people providing a full range of infrastructure services: housekeeping, food delivery, transport, and the like.
They all work either on simplified or preferential taxation. They don’t have VAT. That is, in order to deduct something from the VAT that you received on the number, you have nothing, and you are forced to pay 100% VAT to the state. And when a moratorium was introduced for five years, these companies were able not to pay it. This is a very big help.”
Most bookings are in hotels in the Krasnodar Territory, Moscow and St. Petersburg. By mid-November, about half of the rooms there were reserved for the New Year holidays. And the occupancy of hotels at large ski resorts, such as Sheregesh, Arkhyz and Krasnaya Polyana, is significantly higher than average, noted Minister Reshetnikov. He also emphasized that it is necessary to increase the number of rooms in the country.
Entrepreneurs, by the way, have already assessed the prospects of the hotel business, but they prefer to develop provincial towns rather than fashionable, already promoted resorts, says Andrey Shemyakin, managing partner of the consulting company SEA Company:
“The hotel business in Russia today is actively developing. A big impetus for this was the pandemic, when many investors who kept money in banks had some free funds. And they started putting them in what is called concrete.
Today, this money invested in concrete is already beginning to be sold as ready-made accommodation facilities and hotels. And this is happening all over the country. It is impossible to say that the situation has leveled off. Because, let’s say, the Altai Territory and the Altai Republic have today increased the number of accommodation facilities by a multiple. But most hotels are built in the “premium” and “luxury” segments, with a fairly high check, which makes Altai a premium resort.
At the same time, Central Russia is developing very actively. Cities such as Murom, which relatively recently became part of the Golden Ring, Michurinsk, Tambov. And four-star hotels are being built there, but they are with a very affordable budget, especially for travelers who travel by car, for families – the same trend that appeared in our country immediately after the pandemic.”
The volume of the hotel market by the end of this year will exceed 780 billion rubles, predicts the Yandex Travel service. And in another three years it will exceed 1 trillion rubles. Growth will be ensured both by active domestic tourism, given the restriction of entry into many Western countries, and by travelers from China and Iran.
But, as Kommersant writes, the players themselves largely do not share the optimistic assessments. The development of the industry is hampered by the low solvency of Russians. And foreigners are unlikely to be able to become a support. Even before the pandemic, they accounted for only 15% of total hotel guests. While, for example, in France it is 70%.
Everything is clear with us – Telegram channel “Kommersant FM”.
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