Krasnodar, 7 July. Our today’s interviewee is Kazbek Bimbasov, Executive Director of Villa Italia Boutique Hotel.
Q.: How did you come to the hotel business?
A.: I graduated from the Faculty of Hotel Industry and Service, North Caucasian Federal University. My career at hotel business began when I was a student. Then I worked at hotels, including international ones. In total, my way to the position of executive director lasted for six years.
Q.: What are the advantages of the concept of boutique hotels?
A.: Boutique hotels always render personalized service – every guest is paid much more attention. The hotel business involves minute things – this is the concept that stays behind the work of boutique hotels.
Q.: Will Krasnodar be able to become a tourist centre in future, and what will be needed to achieve this goal?
A.: It is important to ‘serve up’ the city for the tourists. In our city, it is our famous Krasnodar Park that may become the centre of its promotion campaign. In the future, with the help of tourist operators and infrastructural opportunities, Krasnodar can be promoted as a city where a tourist may put up in hotel for a week and use this time to do some minor travels, say, to a winery or to Goriachy Kluch. Krasnodar may become a tourist centre, but it will need a well-blown marketing machine.
Q.: Do the authorities have to be involved in this marketing?
A.: The authorities can render support of the hotel sector. For instance, a city association or federation of hoteliers may be established whose members will pay monthly fees.
Q.: How did the situation with visitors changed in Krasnodar after the closure of the airports and introduction of sanctions?
A.: The sales did fall down, because the tourist traffic reduced by several times. It was especially evident in the early spring when the main traffic was made by businesspeople who did not want to travel by train. By the summer, the situation stabilized at the cost of transit travellers who stay in Krasnodar for a night and then go on to the seaside. The expenses have grown due to the increased prices for everything rather than introduction of some additional expenses.
Q.: How did the sales channel change when all major hotel aggregators left the country?
A.: When Booking left, we immediately put on direct sales. Now the share of direct sales is about 70%, with 30% failing to all other sales channels, including aggregators.
Q.: What advice can you give to those who want to start their career in the hospitality industry?
A.: I can advise them to go all the way from the very beginning – from a waiter or bellboy to a manager. One should not be scared of such work – you should soak up as much experience as possible. Every worker is a cog in the single machine. No service can be imagined without good work of the staff. This is why, it is necessary to undertake much effort to see into each division of a hotel. A worker should love service and, first of all, people in it.
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