Shirak Miqayelyan, Founding Director of VAYK Hotel and Tourism Center.

Shirak Miqayelyan, Founding Director of VAYK Hotel and Tourism Center

Mr. Mikaelyan, Vayk tourism center, and the hotel have been operating since 2010. Introduce us, please, to this hotel and describe the advantages and specifications of the tourism center, and in general, how is the flow of tourists and seasonality (time series) in Vayk?
The Vayk hotel and tourism center was founded in 2010. Few people believed in the success of this initiative considering Vayk as an unattractive destination for tourists. However, by analyzing our strengths and weaknesses (pros and cons), we noted that Vayk is a geographical center both on the map of the region and on the Yerevan-Artsakh highway, it is located on the highway, the city has clean, neat and cozy residence, located along the Arpa River, between Vardeniats and Vayots Mountains.

As for the tourist attraction, it is a very conventional concept and it depends on how you feel and how you present those sightseeings. That’s why our hotel also took the mission of the Information Center from the very beginning. The “Tourist Center” signboard guides tourists to our hotel where they receive information about attractions and tourist opportunities in Vayots Dzor region, as well as get answers to other questions, such as about roads, transportation, the distance between settlements, nearest shops, banks, medical facilities. In addition, in our hotel, they will be offered a cup of tea or coffee and will have the opportunity to charge their devices.
As for Vayk Hotel, it is a 3-story building with 15 rooms, including single, double and triple rooms that are beautifully and comfortably furnished. We have a high rating among different hotel booking systems. Despite the seasonality of tourism in Armenia, we work all year round. It should be noted that in recent years, the problem of seasonality seems to be overcome.
In winter we have tourists as well who come here not only to celebrate the New Year but also to do winter hiking and skiing in our mountains that are ideal for such preferences. In addition, our hotel has a multifunctional hall where various public events are held, such as meetings, seminars, workshops, and exhibitions, so this activity also provides income for our hotel.
Our mission is to promote the whole Vayots Dzor as an exclusive tourism destination, where the most diverse forms of tourism can be combined: cultural, agro, eco, gastronomical, wine, adventure…

With this in view, we realize various initiatives, publish and distribute books and brochures about Vayots Dzor, organize festivals, conferences on the topic of “Tourism Opportunities in Vayots Dzor”, support other individuals or organizations engaged in tourism in different ways and provide consulting services to those communities who want to develop tourism in their region.
Tourism is a field where not only you but all other interconnected “actors” need to be strong and advanced in order to succeed.

Victoria Gasparyan – Personnel Manager | Corinthia Hotel
St Petersburg

Victoria Gasparyan – Personnel Manager | Corinthia Hotel
St Petersburg

First and foremost, let me thank you for this interview and congratulate you on your interesting and important project.
I will celebrate my 10th anniversary in the field of human resource management in a month. It’s been an honor for me to work in such leading organizations in various spheres as Gold’s Gym, Public Television Company of Armenia, Radisson Blu companies.
At the beginning of 2018, I had the great opportunity to join the Corinthia Hotel Chain located in the heart of St. Petersburg as an HR manager. I should note that the hotel that has 388 rooms and 17 conference halls for business meetings was recognized as Russia’s leading conference hotel by the World Travel Awards in 2011, 2012, 2013, 2016, 2017, 2018 and I am sure this year too. Of course, this experience can’t be compared to any other experience considering the business volume of the hotel. We were also one of the few hotels that had the opportunity to host teams from different countries during the FIFA World Cup. It was a very busy, responsible and at the same time fun period.
Every market has its own peculiarities, but the thing that is repeated almost everywhere is the lack of professionals in the market. Despite the multimillion workforces, hotels are “struggling” for every professional. As an advantage of the Russian market, I will mention the abundance of work (if there is a wish to work you can’t stay without work even for one day) and the employee protection by the law, which unfortunately is still not in a satisfactory condition in Armenia.
The advantage of the Armenian market is the natural hospitality and tremendous potential – the cuisine, nature, the history that surely will soon make us one of the most popular travel destinations. The working day passes in one moment. In addition that I am responsible for the staff recruitment (running the process of recruitment for at least 20 vacancies), we also deal with a variety of tasks/requests/ inquiries related to the employees, state institutions and so on with our HR team during the day. We also organize various events to make daily life of our employees more enjoyable, for example, an evening with the theme of the Venice carnival night, with the participation of professional actors and TV hosts, summer bbq-party, New Year performance for children with the participation of Santa Claus and Snow Maiden and many other events that require enough time and effort. However, being in a company that carries the best values and is surrounded by devotees of their work, it only remains to enjoy every moment, which I have been doing for already 10 years.
As I mentioned, the lack of staff is typical both for the Armenian and Russian hotel industry, but this fact should remain unnoticed for the guests. On the one hand, it is certainly very convenient to take advantage of such an opportunity when there is a weak spot in the service field, but don’t forget that such employee does not carry the hotel’s value system and history. The employee can work here today, tomorrow at another restaurant, and in this case, a great responsibility lies on the shoulders of the managers, who must prepare the worker in advance, before releasing into the “field”. On the other hand, taking into consideration, for example, the seasonality of the Armenian market, outstaffing is a good tool in terms of effectively managing the salary fund. The problem is that such companies also have a lack of staff, and during the high season they can’t provide the continuity of services as well.
I think that from the perspective of profitability outstaffing is one of the spheres that have a future in Armenia.

Catalina Susan – General Manager of Armenia Marriott Hotel, Yerevan

Catalina Susan – General Manager of Armenia Marriott Hotel, Yerevan

What, in your opinion, are the main skills needed to run a successful hotel?
First of all, you need to be knowledgeable of all the hotel activities, and this you can get with experience. So, I strongly believe that a general manager should have experience working in different departments of a hotel. So, in my case, I worked most of my career, about 16 years in the hotel finance department, but the last two years I was involved with the work of other departments as well, in order to get more experience and more exposure.
Concerning the skills, I’d say you need to be strong, as there are always various challenges, life in a hotel is not easy, and something inevitably pops up and it needs to be solved.
You also need to be hardworking, as you need to dedicate all of yourself to the life in a hotel because when you try to split it in another direction as well, it gets extremely difficult.
And last but not least, you need to be very flexible to adapt quickly to new environments, people, culture, and if you’re not open to something new, you probably will fail as a manager.
What are the biggest challenges a hotel owner/general manager can expect to face?
To be honest, here in Armenia I face more challenges then I did in the previous hotels I worked in, for example in the European Union conditions, even the legislation is totally different from further east. This Marriott is not an easy property. The biggest challenge, I would say, right now is finding suppliers in the current market, as there aren’t that many options here, and surprisingly for me, some supplier does not want to work with Marriott.
It is also difficult to find outsource companies, which is one of the options for running the property with higher profit. And it’s much easier to work with outsourcing companies and hire them during the high season, and the other seasons you just base your work on your regular staff. Also, it is difficult to work in unfair conditions, for example, AirB&B is doing an unfair competition, I’d say, and a lot of customers prefer to go there instead of the hotels, despite the fact that they have different conditions. A lot of people do get disappointed, that whatever is shown in the picture isn’t a reality most of the time, but still, for the first experience they prefer something other than a hotel.
In Armenia it is difficult to find employees because bright minds and good professionals have chosen to leave Armenia, most of them work in Russia. So, whenever we have an opening, it gets really difficult. Turnover is not so big, but for some departments, like front office, it is indeed very high, and we face the issue of hiring people, training them, and consecutively they do not stay long with us, and instead move to another hotel with a higher position, or maybe another Marriott property. The majority of them say that it is a difficult job, but it really is not, and if you really want to grow in that company you need to start from the bottom.
Sure thing, as a General Manager you will most definitely be stressed out most of the time, but it is important not to show it because you will stress the others as well. And so, I try to keep calm all the time, and you will hardly see me upset.
Please describe a typical day of a general manager of a large chain hotel.
The typical day is very busy, usually, I plan my week at the weekend, but it never goes as planned, I only manage to get some 40% done.
I start my morning in the gym at 6.30, I go there 3-4 times a week, this refreshes me to have a long and busy day. Then I do a touring of the hotel, starting with the breakfast area, talking to the customers, I also come to the executive lounge, where we have our repetitive guests and VIPs, and sometimes I spend a lot of time here chatting with them. Next, I check the conference area to see what the events for the day are, whether everything is prepared, then I go through the lobby area and afterward I spend some time talking to the staff.
One or two times a week I pass by all the departments, I greet the employees, find out how they feel, whether they need something. Whenever we have a difficult or busy day I find it especially useful talking to the staff as they may feel overwhelmed, and while talking to them I try to encourage them and make them feel a little bit better.
During the day I do have a lot of meetings, internal meetings with my staff, like selling strategy meetings, I try to catch up with my emails, but I usually end up doing this after my working hours when I am at home, and twice a week I take Russian lessons, I want to learn Russian, I think it will help me in my future career.
What advice would you give to prospective hotel owners/general managers?
First, they need to pay attention to the staff they are hiring, because it is important to hire the right people, and not to be very “cheap”, because some people choose to go for young and inexperienced staff, of course, it is very important to hire young people to give them the chance to build their career, but it is very important to have experienced and skilled staff as well. Marriott is very good at it, because they bring people from other hotels for key positions, as these people know all the rules and procedures. Also, they need to be patient, in the beginning especially, as it might be difficult to teach all the procedures, rules and standards (if it is a branded hotel), if it is not, you set out your own procedures and rules. They need to pay attention to how they choose their suppliers and be very meticulous about everything, even the smallest detail because if you compromise quality and as a result, the customer isn’t satisfied and their impression of your hotel isn’t good, they are not going to come back. So, I can say that the suppliers directly impact the hotel’s guest satisfaction. And last but not least, be dedicated to your work and be aware of everything going on in each area/department of your hotel, you don’t have to show that you know everything, but it is good to be aware of it. And one bonus advice, try to always learn something new, I constantly learn, I also learn from other hotel’s experiences as well, because we meet occasionally with other general managers of hotels in Armenia and share experiences.
You have experience working in several countries. Could you tell us what is unique about working in Marriott in Armenia?
In Armenia the people are different than in other countries, I worked in. They are very warm, and they have hospitality in their blood, they like to talk to other people. The people made me feel home right away, despite the fact that my friends who learned I was coming to work in Armenia would exclaim, “Where are you going? It’s the end of the world’.
I actually knew a lot about Armenia before even coming here, because I am also orthodox and I knew Armenia was the first country in the world to adopt Christianity as their official religion. So, I always wanted to come here for a vacation, but I never really had the time. So, I got very excited when I learned I am coming here to work.
Another unique thing is the Marriott property itself it is landmark itself, everybody knows it, it is in a very central position, all the diaspora knows about this property, and this keeps our customers loyal. When you think of a hotel in Yerevan, you think at Armenia Marriott Hotel.
Please tell us when and how your journey in hospitality began.
It started in June 2000, in JW Marriott in Bucharest, Romania (I am Romanian), I started as an assistant of the director of finance after other 6 years experience in other two companies, as I was graduating from university with a major in Finance, bookkeeping, so this is my main field. I worked for almost 16 years in finance. In 2006 I moved to Marriott Warsaw, and it is the biggest Marriott property in Europe with 523 rooms. I was Assistant Director of Finance for only one year, then I came back to Bucharest to take the position of Director of Finance, and for almost 9 years I stayed in that position. The latest 4 years of my career in Finance I was again in Warsaw Marriott, and that hotel is kind of a “ramp”, so who starts working there, they usually continue working as a General Manager, because you learn a lot working in that hotel. In 2016 February I started my first position as a General Manager in Courtyard by Marriott in Budapest, it’s an upscale Courtyard, not a standard one. I stayed only one year and four months there and was later asked to move to my current position in Armenia. And I’ve been here since July 2017.
Please tell us what it is like to be a female general manager in such a heavily male-dominated sphere.
It is actually very good being a female General Manager, and Marriott, in general, is trying to empower and promote women, as they are more attentive to details, they are watching differently than men, and they keep better relationships with guests/customer. But in general, it is a bit different, and especially in branded hotels, there are very few female general managers there.
I myself try to always support not only women, but also man, and wherever I work, I try to push my staff to get higher positions, to inspire them. And I think when the general manager is a woman it always inspires others in the company to raise their ambitions. Becoming a general manager was always my desire, I had the option of choosing to go work for the Marriott headquarters Finance department, but I decided to follow my dream of becoming a General Manager.

Armin Eberhard, General Manager of Renaissance Moscow Monarch Centre Hotel.

Armin Eberhard, General Manager of Renaissance Moscow Monarch Centre Hotel.

Please tell us about your journey to the hotel and hospitality industry.

I was born in the northwest of Germany and started my career in Berlin in one of the major international brands. I had a great opportunity to train in various disciplines as part of the vocational program including rooms division, food & beverage, housekeeping, accounting, sales and marketing, and others. My initial training gave me a great overview of how large operations are structured and together with the brand I could progress my career in diverse destinations such as London and New York. Later, outside the big brand, I had an opportunity to gain experience in the resort market in the Caribbean. Prior to coming to Moscow, I worked in Prague, the Czech Republic, and Budapest, Hungary for a European operator with large conference hotels.
What are the specifications and characteristics of a business hotel?
The needs and requirements of an individual business traveler or a corporate conference attendee are always the centers of our activities. Most important to this community is comfort and ease of access to facilities with timely and efficient customer service. Often tight schedules and meeting agendas do not allow these guests much time for discoveries on their own. That is why our Navigators lead the way, so our guests can make the most of their visit on and off work.

Could you please tell us about Renaissance Moscow Monarch Centre Hotel’s uniqueness?
Besides being one of Moscow latest additions to the conference travel hospitality sector, the hotel distinguishes itself with several unique selling points. Let me start with the accommodation; spacious rooms of a minimum of 35 square meters arranged for comfort, with Marriott standard bedding quality and modern bathrooms, including bathtubs and walk-in showers. With its inventory of 366 units, the Renaissance Monarch Moscow hotel offers different accommodation levels to suit all travel needs next to the deluxe king or twin bedrooms. We offer 45 suites from junior or 1-bedroom corner suites of 55sq. m. up to presidential suites of 160sq. m., all with separation between bedroom and living room.
For guests on project work, the Renaissance offers 40 apartments at 75sq. m, including kitchenettes and excellent full service, stay solutions with many services included. The second highlight is our Duplex Executive lounge offering private breakfast, sweeping views over the city and a relaxation space throughout the day with pre-dinner cocktail food and drinks in the evening. Another excellent attribute for the business traveler is our spacious and impressive Health Club. Located on almost 1,600 square meters, it has a workout and wellness space with a large, fully equipped gym, pool, jacuzzi, sauna, spa and a group training room hosting a wide variety of trainer-led activities. The core of the hotel is formed of our 2,500sq. m. of banqueting and catering floor with 12 modern and flexible meeting rooms surrounding 1,000sq. m. exhibition space and a welcoming lobby.

Do you agree with the opinion of “20% of the success of the hotel depends on location and the building with its interior and exterior and 80% depends on people who manage the hotel”?
Location is often a paramount decision for a frequent individual traveler. The sheer size of the city demands the planning ahead of travel requirements within the city during the stay. Residing on one side of the city and commuting to the other side during a short stay period puts enormous pressure on schedules and extends travel time. However, the frequent individual business traveler is an expert customer in service evaluation and possesses a great experience to compare hotel products and services worldwide. To stand out and gain the loyalty of these valuable customers means we must train and focus the associates to recognize, welcome and serve the community with utter professionalism and courtesy. Especially here in Moscow travelers have great choices and only the unique, friendly and efficient approach of all team members will make a stay memorable and convince the customers to return.

What values or characteristics should a person have to join your team?
When we hire associates, we look for that special talent with a genuine interest in meeting and engaging with international travelers from all over the globe. The desire to communicate with and host these guests without any prejudice is the most important skill to fit into our team. We can teach you many technical skills, but we cannot create desire and natural curiosity. You need to be a good Navigator for our Discoverers and our guests.

What are your plans going forward?
Currently, we are in the process of introducing new banqueting facilities, adding 400sq. m. to our existing space. Following Marriott standard updates, we are renewing facilities and technical amenities, including a new TV system and WIFI infrastructure, keeping up with the digital development. Additionally, as the hotel celebrates its first decade in 2020, we are preparing a year of surprises and want to share this milestone event with our associates, clients, partners, and guests.

Salvatore Casarrubia – General Manager of Opera Suite Hotel, Yerevan

Salvatore Casarrubia – General Manager of Opera Suite Hotel, Yerevan

Mr. Casarrubia, taking into consideration your experience can you share some advice for managing a successful hotel.
First, to become a successful hotel, it is very important to have a motivated and professional staff. As an example, for an inspiring and motivating manager, we can take Jose Mourinho, a famous football coach. Maybe, he is not the best tactical coach in the world, but in my opinion, he is the best at motivating and making his players feel valued and appreciated. Following the same logic, I demand from myself to motivate my employees and put them in the position where they can do their best every day, and that is the way to help and empower them to grow professionally, to have new experiences every day, of course by providing the necessary conditions.
It is very important to understand that it is bilaterally effective both for the company and the employee. As a hotel, you can have the worst facilities, but if you have a motivated staff, you will have an advantage over your competitors with the quality of service your staff can provide.
Today I am more than happy to share my experience with my employees and colleagues, I am not jealous. I understand that sometimes it can be a little bit challenging, like in any other industry, working in the hotel has its ups and downs, but I am not talking from my side as Salvatore Casarrubia, I am telling it as a person with all this experience. I am asking my employees to trust my experience and when I tell them to do things in a certain way, I ensure that it will run very good.
Let me tell you also another thing. The position of a general manager is very delicate, you have to say when something is wrong and it is not personal. My goal is not to please everyone, that’s why from time to time I have to make decisions that some people will not like, but again as they say “nothing personal, just business”. My goal is to make sure that the company is running as it is supposed to run, also, of course, take care of my staff. But I must be sure that they are giving all the maximum for the company. You must be sure they are doing what you require.

You spoke about how you need to treat your employees and colleagues, tell us more about your views on how to treat customers.
As for the customers, my thought is following; never say no to the customer. I used to say to my employees, don’t reason with your pocket, because you never know who is standing in front of you. For sure when a customer asks for something very special, they know that they must pay. That is self-understanding. We should ensure that whatever is customer demanding, of course within the law, we are doing our best to provide it at the highest level possible.
When I came here, I introduced the Latin expression to my staff. “Vademecum” which means “Come with me”. That gives them guideline how I wish they treat each other and how they treat our guests. I don’t like to use the words customer or client; I prefer using Guest. In the past, there were no clients or customer, everybody was called GUEST. You must treat them as a friend, as someone you are hosting at your house. Hospitality is not only a job, but it is also a culture.
I understand that it is not easy, working as a waiter, barista or receptionist, for example, as you are serving people. But you don’t have to be embarrassed because you are serving someone, you need to understand that you are providing service, which is a different approach and different mentality. I can see some differences comparing Armenia and Italy in that sense. Waiter understands that he or she is not just serving, but they are providing professional service.
Speaking about professionalism and different approaches, what do you think about professional education in this industry in our country?
Taking to account the problems mentioned above I think It should be very interesting to have a hospitality school in Armenia. For example, if we discuss the case of Switzerland (the country where I was born) they have mountains, beautiful nature, agriculture, banks but very little tourism (compared to other industries). But they have the best tourism and hospitality education in the world, they have the best private schools for our industry. In those schools they provide education for general managers, financial managers, revenue managers, restaurant managers, housekeeping managers, chefs. They are to pay for that, and when they finish school, they already have work. Young Armenians should understand and give importance to professional education. They have a lot of opportunities and chances to build their career in your country.
What do you think about new opening hotels in the country and their management and pricing strategies?
Yerevan is a very beautiful and welcoming city, and I am very happy with the new opening hotels, but in the same time, I am worried that new hotels are making damping, not all I mean. Damping is very dangerous and could be damage the market, it needs a long time and it will be very hard to recover that. I am not scared about the opening of new 5-star hotels, I am glad about it. Normally, they should sell higher than me 4-star hotel (smiling). My position in the market could be a little bit less comparing 5-star hotel. I took many challenges in my life. I had some losses and wins of course. Here I have a very beautiful 4-star hotel and very motivated, professional staff. I feel very confident that we will make a difference not with our walls but with our staff and service that we can offer.
Tell us a little bit more about one day at work as a general manager.
As a general manager, I can come even at 10:00 am. But I am I usually arrive around 08:30, I am not here just to sit at my office and check numbers from the previous day. I go up to the breakfast room. I am checking if everything is fine and I am having a walk in the hotel to ensure that everyone is doing their job at the right time. It doesn’t mean that I am some kind of policeman or I am checking on someone. The message is that I am here and I give example to everyone by doing that.
Can you share your work experience?
My previous work was a big hotel with 140 rooms and spacious meeting rooms, we had 1500 sqm ballroom, it was situated close to Bologna. It was old, like many Italian hotels. I understood that this 1500 sqm ballroom, can and must be our advantage. In the case of that hotel, if meeting rooms work, all the services will work as well.
Also, I worked in one of the most beautiful cities in the world, in Florence for 3 years and Toscana as well. And I had a different kind of experience. I managed a business hotel, a thermal hotel with a big spa that operates mainly for the leisure segment.
I have started my career in this field in 1993 with a very important chain: Accor. I worked for many years in this chain and it is a very important background. I grew up as a professional with Novotel. I worked for Novotel Bologna for several years starting from the reception. I had a very good General Manager Mr. Paolo Rier, He was the General Manager of Novotel Hotels in Italy at that time. He gave me the opportunity to grow up until Front Office Manager. I decided to leave the Accor chain and continue my experience by myself.

Сальваторе Касаррубия – генеральный директор отеля Opera Suite, Ереван

Salvatore Casarrubia – General Manager of Opera Suite Hotel, Yerevan

Уважаемый г-н Касаррубия, принимая во внимание ваш опыт, не могли бы вы поделиться некоторыми советами по успешному управлению отелем?
Прежде всего, чтобы стать успешным отелем, очень важно иметь мотивированный и профессиональный персонал.
Примером вдохновляющего и мотивирующего менеджера может быть известный футбольный тренер Хосе Моуринью. Возможно, он не лучший тактический тренер в мире, но, на мой взгляд, он лучше всех мотивирует и заставляет своих игроков чувствовать, что их ценят и дорожат ими. Следуя той же логике, я требую от себя мотивировать своих сотрудников и ставить их на те должности, где они могут проявлять себя с наилучшей стороны каждый день. Это способ помочь им и дать возможность вырасти в профессиональном плане, каждый день получая новые впечатления, конечно предоставляя им необходимые условия.
Очень важно понимать, что это эффективно для обоих сторон – как для компании, так и для сотрудника.
Вы можете иметь худшие условия как отель, но, если у вас есть мотивированный персонал, вы будете иметь преимущество перед вашими конкурентами в плане качества обслуживания, которое ваш персонал может предоставить.
Сегодня я более чем рад поделиться своим опытом с моими сотрудниками и коллегами, я не завистливый. Я понимаю, что иногда это может быть несколько сложно, как в любой другой индустрии, работа в отеле имеет свои взлеты и падения, но я не говорю от своего имени – как Сальваторе Касаррубия, я говорю это как человек, у которого есть опыт. Я прошу своих сотрудников доверять моему опыту, и когда я говорю им, чтобы они делали что-то определенным образом, я гарантирую, что это сработает на отлично.
Позвольте мне сказать вам еще кое-что. Должность генерального менеджера очень деликатна, вы должны говорить, когда что-то не так, но не переходить на личности. Моя цель не в том, чтобы угодить всем, поэтому время от времени мне приходится принимать решения, которые не нравятся некоторым людям, но опять же, как говорится «ничего личного, только бизнес». Моя цель – убедиться, что компания работает так, как она должна работать, и, конечно же, позаботиться о моих сотрудниках. Но я должен быть уверен, что они делают все возможное для компании. Вы должны быть уверены, что они делают то, что требуется, не притворяясь.

Вы рассказали о том, как нужно относиться к своим сотрудникам и коллегам, теперь расскажите нам больше о ваших взглядах на то, как нужно обращаться с клиентами.
Что касается клиентов, то моя позиция заключается в следующем; никогда не говорите нет клиенту. Я говорил своим сотрудникам: не судите по внешности, потому что вы никогда не знаете, кто стоит перед вами. Конечно, когда клиент просит что-то особенное, он знает, что должен заплатить. Это само собой разумеется. Мы же должны гарантировать, что сделаем все возможное, чтобы обеспечить самый высокий уровень, что бы ни требовал клиент. В рамках закона, конечно.
Когда я пришел сюда, я познакомил своих сотрудников с одним латинским выражением. «Vademecum», что означает «Пойдем со мной». Оно показывает им, как бы я хотел, чтобы они относились друг к другу и к нашим гостям. Я не хотел бы использовать слова “клиент” или “потребитель”. Я предпочитаю использовать слово “Гость”. В прошлом не было ни клиентов, ни потребителей, всех звали гостями. Вы должны относиться к ним как к другу, как к тому, кого вы принимаете в своем доме. Гостеприимство – это не только работа, но и культура.
Я понимаю, что нелегко, например, работать официантом, баристой или портье, так как вы служите людям. Но вам не нужно смущаться из-за того, что вы служите кому-то, вы должны понимать, что вы предоставляете услуги, это другой подход и другой менталитет. Я вижу некоторые различия, сравнивая Армению и Италию в этом смысле. Официант понимает, что он или она не просто обслуживают, а предоставляют профессиональные услуги.
Говоря о профессионализме и разных подходах, что вы думаете о профессиональном образовании в этой сфере в нашей стране?
Принимая во внимание вышеупомянутые проблемы, я думаю, что было бы очень интересно иметь школу гостеприимства в Армении. Например, если мы обсудим случай Швейцарии (страны, где я родился), у них есть горы, красивая природа, сельское хозяйство, банки, но очень мало туризма (по сравнению с другими отраслями). Но у них лучшее в мире образование в сфере туризма и гостеприимства, у них лучшие частные школы для нашей отрасли. В этих школах они проводят обучение для генеральных менеджеров, финансовых менеджеров, менеджеров по доходам, менеджеров ресторанов, менеджеров по хозяйству, поваров. Они должны платить за это, и когда они заканчивают школу, у них уже есть работа. Молодые армяне должны понимать и придавать значение профессиональному образованию. У них много возможностей и шансов построить своей карьеру в вашей стране.
Что вы думаете об открывающихся отелях в стране, об управлении и ценовых стратегиях?
Ереван очень красивый и гостеприимный город, и я очень доволен открытием новых отелей, но в то же время я обеспокоен тем, что новые отели занимаются демпингом, но не все, конечно. Демпинг очень опасен и может нанести ущерб рынку, а восстановление потребует длительного времени, и будет очень сложно. Меня не пугает открытие новых 5-звездочных отелей, я рад этому. Обычно они должны стоить дороже моего 4-звездочного отеля (улыбается). Моя позиция на рынке может быть немного ниже по сравнению с 5-звездочным отелем. Я принимал много вызовов в своей жизни. Конечно у меня были и поражения, и победы. У меня очень красивый 4-звездочный отель с очень мотивированным, профессиональным персоналом. Я уверен, что мы будем представлять ценность не за счет наших стен, а нашим персоналом и обслуживанием, которое мы можем предложить.
Расскажите нам чуть больше об одном буднем дне генерального менеджера.
Как генеральный менеджер, я могу прийти даже в 10:00, кого это волнует? Но я обычно прибываю примерно в 08:30, так как я здесь не для того, чтобы просто сидеть у себя в офисе и проверять цифры за предыдущий день. Я иду в зал для завтрака. Я проверяю, все ли в порядке, хожу по отелю, чтобы убедиться, что все выполняют свою работу в нужное время. Это не значит, что я какой-то полицейский или проверяю кого-то. Суть в том, чтобы показать, что я здесь, и подавать пример всем.
Можете поделиться своим опытом работы?
Моя предыдущая работа была в большой гостинице с 140 номерами и просторными конференц-залами, у нас был бальный зал в 1500 кв.м., он был расположен недалеко от Болоньи. Это был старый отель, как и многие итальянские отели. Я понял, что этот бальный зал площадью в 1500 кв.м. может и должен быть нашим преимуществом. В случае этого отеля, если работают конференц-залы, то все службы также будут работать.
Кроме того, я работал в одном из самых красивых городов в мире, во Флоренции в течение 3 лет, а также в Тоскане. Там у меня был другой опыт. Я управлял бизнес-отелем, термальным отелем с большим спа-центром, который работает в основном в сегменте отдыха.
Я начал свою карьеру в этой области в 1993 году в очень важной сети: Accor. Я много лет работал в этой сети, и это очень важный опыт. Я вырос как профессионал в Novotel. Я работал в Novotel Bologna в течение нескольких лет, начиная с ресепшн. У меня был очень хороший генеральный директор, г-н Паоло Риер, он был генеральным менеджером Novotel Hotels в Италии в то время. Он дал мне возможность вырасти до руководителя фронт-офиса. Позже я решил покинуть сеть Accor и продолжить свою карьеру отдельно.

Anastasiya Romanova
Expedia Group – Market Associate Georgia, Armenia, Ukraine

Anastasiya Romanova
Expedia Group – Market Associate Georgia, Armenia, Ukraine

We know that Expedia group is one of the best travel technology company and travel platform in the world. Expedia Group is present in 200+ travel booking sites in 70+ countries, covers 45% international revenue and has 24.000+ employees in more than 30 countries. Can you please tell us more about Expedia, its vision and strategy and of course about your position and responsibilities as a market specialist in Armenia, Georgia, and Ukraine?
You noted correctly that Expedia Group is not just an OTA, it is indeed a travel-platform, with the help of which the traveler can completely form his/her trip: starting from buying a ticket and booking a hotel to renting a car and buying a cruise, tickets to a concert or sightseeing tour. For the corporate segment, there is a resource Egencia that is also not limited to the offer of new properties.
The company is focused on the customer and aims to be locally relevant on a global basis, therefore, in 2019, it will continue to develop its customer products: add new points of sale, localized for different countries, add new suppliers (distributors) (including actively engaging new accommodation facilities), expanding the choice of currencies for mutual settlements of payments with both guests and partners and to achieve maximum competitiveness of the supply.
In the frameworks of this strategy, Expedia Group also actively cooperates with local authorities to advertise new tourist destinations on their websites. For example, last year with the support of GNTA, an ad campaign called “Visit Georgia” was held on the website of Expedia, and before this, the capital of Ukraine was actively advertised on the initiative of the Kyiv Tourism Department.
As a marketing specialist, I work with a portfolio of hotels in Armenia, Georgia, and Ukraine. My main purpose is to help partners cooperate with the Expedia Group as efficiently as possible. Every market is very different: each has its own specifics, seasonality and its own advantages. So, in my work there are no one-size-fits-all solutions, I always act from the needs of a particular region. This means that in one period of time I can focus on conducting webinars and training events for partners, in another period I can actively engage in finding new properties or help hoteliers maximize their income during the high season.
Within one region, the needs of hoteliers are not identical as well: with someone, we are purposefully working to increase the share of non-refundable bookings, and with someone, we focus on preserving the leading positions in the rating.

How many properties (hotels, hostels, guesthouses, and homes) Expedia group represents in Armenia?
Currently, Expedia Group has more than three hundred direct contracts with various accommodation facilities in Armenia. Most of these are classic hotels, however, among the total number, there are hostels, guest houses or apartment clusters that correspond to certain requirements. These are the exact places that can be found on Expedia, Hotels.com, Travelocity, Wotif and on other websites.
But, since Expedia Group includes several brands, there is an opportunity to differentiate our offer for a guest and combine all alternative means of accommodation (for example, single apartments, cottages or villas) on our other resources – HomeAway and VRBO that are adapted to the search “ vacation rentals “.
From your experience working with Armenian market can you please tell us what problems or issues you face starting from the registration of the property to managing them in Expedia’s platform? What are the points that you see there is a need to improve?
I would note two major challenges that hoteliers make. They can appear at any stage of cooperation with Expedia: both at the very beginning, and after several years of work.
Firstly, hoteliers often forget that working with OTA is a continuous process. There is a misconception that you can simply create room types, set rates, and upload photos, and then wait for bookings. But the market is dynamic, it is necessary to use various promotion tools, update rates, advertise additional hotel services, work with reviews, analyze the demand and the behavior of competitors.
Expedia Group offers a wide range of analytical tools that are available to all our partners in their Extranet including through the mobile application. Therefore, the hotelier can analyze the situation at any time and make changes, for example, in his pricing policy.
I always draw a parallel between the online booking site and the supermarket. In order for a consumer to buy your product, first, it is necessary that he finds it in a huge store, distinguish among others and choose to purchase. In 2019 it is no longer enough just to place a price tag on the packaging of goods, it is necessary to put efforts on its promotion.
In other words, it is important to invest your knowledge and time in working with online resources, and then they will bring the desired income.
Secondly, the lack of understanding of the market situation is often interfering hoteliers and, as a result, the incorrect positioning of the hotel. When we talk with hoteliers about their competitors, our partners name 2-3 properties nearby. Perhaps this is relevant for a business traveler who chooses between several hotels in close proximity to the office of the hotel to the office, the availability of breakfast and the price.
But if you think outside the box and talk about the leisure-segment, then the hotelier must remember that competition is also created by an alternative accommodations – the same apartments that we have already mentioned. Moreover, a competitor can be located not only in Yerevan and even in Armenia, but, for example, a hotel from neighboring Georgia.
Therefore, we always urge to consider your hotel inseparably from global trends: follow how hotels in other countries (especially where potential guests from feeder markets go) position themselves, follow the launches of hotel chains and the arrival of new airlines, communicate with colleagues, alternative resources and the media, to participate in industry events. The comprehension of the market situation is the key to the correct positioning and promotion of the hotel, and not only through online channels.
In my practice, there were cases when the hotel created the demand for a specific destination. People wanted to come to this or that place that they had never heard of before in order to stay at a particular hotel, and the interest for the region contributed to the opening of new accommodation facilities. I wish there were more stories like this.

Hayk Sahakyan – Director of Sales and Marketing at The Alexander, A Luxury Collection Hotel, Yerevan

Hayk Sahakyan – Director of Sales and Marketing at The Alexander, A Luxury Collection Hotel, Yerevan

In the Armenian market, we can see that there is not a straight and right segmentation of hotels as products and nowadays there are hotels which consider themselves as luxury ones. How would you describe the real meaning of a luxury hotel?
Each hotel aims to be considered as the best one, it is the obvious desire. The luxury segment is the new-born definition in Armenia in general and in the hospitality industry in particular. As the first and only international luxury hotel in the country, we represent standards, approach, and vision that the luxury hotels are to have. In my opinion, luxury is the best, limited, sophisticated and meaningful attitude to the regular services and goods, similar to the reason to separate classical music from the rest. Numerous stories behind each detail, exceeding and anticipating the needs and feelings of our guests, highest standards of quality and service combined with exceptional design, location and features make the hotel luxury. The hospitality in Armenia has been developing for more than two decades. Travelers exploring our country represent various segments and there is no need to aim every each of them. Because of the low volume of the market, properties are trying to adapt and make the best out of acting as affordable, MICE, family, business, group and luxury hotels at the same time. Which in return damages country image, destabilizes competition, destroys segmentation. I believe there is room for each segment in the hospitality industry. We just need to clearly understand which one do we represent, who do we target and which properties do we compete with.
During the low season, we can see that some hotels are going into price damping. What do you think about it? Why is it happening?
I would think of three main, simple reasons. First, from November to February the market suffers from the lack of business in every segment, properties need to operate, pay salaries, costs and fees. That is why they target everything they are able to get some business. Second, is that properties are not confident of what to expect in terms of economic, political and social development of the country. In these conditions, business always aims at a short-term income strategy. Finally, some strategy decision makers of the hotels do not always realize the structure of the market and drop the rates lower than their below-tier colleagues. It brings to the domino-effect rate drops, Armenia presents its product in a tender with the daily price difference of 10-25 USD between 3 and 5-star hotels. You may guess the perception of the country as the tourism destination yourself. Moreover, it creates issues with future pricing strategy as you may have hard times explaining to your partners why increased the rate twice in May or September. Consolidated market strategy, a clear understanding of the segments, respect towards each other and hospitality community creation will bring us to much better results, I believe.
What advice would you give to the young generation who are going to work in the hotel and hospitality industry? What are the main criteria someone should follow?
There is no precise criteria, nor key for success. I have one advice for the people who have decided to join the hospitality. You need to love what you are doing, love to make people happy, to make their special day unforgettable. You simply need to love to host guests in your apartment. Each of you represents our country and only after the place you work. If it is all about you, welcome aboard! When you are aboard, the hard work time will come. Every single day you will need to learn something new, to become better and to pass your expertise to the team you are working with. I truly hope to see a proper hospitality school in Armenia in the nearest future, where young people would become professionals supported by the restaurant, hotel and tour business specialists for the better hospitality in Armenia.

The Hotelier LLC presented the second issue of its “Hotelier Magazine” which is devoted to covering the ever-growing hospitality industry in Armenia and not only. The event took place at Armenia Marriott Hotel and it brought together over 130 hotel industry executives, representatives of adjacent spheres both governmental and private.

Catalina Susan, the general manager of Armenia Marriott Hotel, Yerevan as well as Susanna Safaryan, Chairperson of State Tourism Committee, RA spoke of the importance of having such an initiative which would bring together the whole industry and would contribute to its development.