Dyshlevsky A.S.
Modern problems of service and tourism. - 2007. - No. 2. - P.50-59.

The article is devoted to the problems of the functioning and development of the hotel business, the production and economic potential of which is steadily increasing and has a significant impact on increasing the competitiveness of the country's economy as a whole and the accelerated development of related industries. It is emphasized that the dynamic development of the hotel sector largely depends on the study of the features of accounting for hotel services, as well as the application of effective forms and methods of regulating and supporting the development of small hotels.

The hospitality industry is one of the promising areas for the development of the Russian economy. The formation of a new socio-economic environment significantly changes the position and role of hotel structures in the national economy of Russia, makes significant adjustments to the mechanisms of macroeconomic, inter-company and intra-economic regulation of their activities. Hotel complex enterprises are a complex economic mechanism for the production and provision of services and include several diverse types of activities: accommodation, food, leisure and consumer services, etc. In this regard, the financial activities of hotel enterprises have a number of features.

The hotel industry is directly related to the tourism industry - a rather specific and multifaceted sector of the economy, uniting enterprises producing both tangible and intangible products (services). The role and importance of the hotel sector is growing everywhere; in Moscow alone, by 2015, it is planned to triple the number of rooms in the hotel sector. The Russian tourism business is currently in a development stage, and its effective functioning depends on the influence of a whole range of factors - primarily political, economic, and social.

At the same time, one cannot fail to take into account the inclusion in the hotel business of enterprises of different capacity and management features, including those operating on the basis of franchising. Increasing competitiveness and dynamic development of the hotel sector largely depends on the effectiveness of the forms and methods of its macroeconomic regulation and support. This is confirmed by the practice of many countries with developed market economies, where a wide range of tools for multi-level management of various entities of the hotel business have been developed. Some tools can be successfully applied in modern Russian conditions. At the same time, the specifics of the domestic economy, the peculiarities of the Russian mentality and the complexities of the modern transition period require the development of special approaches to hotel management that fully take into account objective reality.

For example, in order to develop the material base and infrastructure of the capital's hotel industry, the Committee for Foreign Economic Affairs of the Moscow Government is implementing a set of measures to attract investment for the reconstruction of existing hotels. At the expense of investors, the Ararat, Novoslobodskaya, Tatyana, etc. hotels were put into operation in 2002. A new five-star Ritz-Carlton hotel was built on the site of the dismantled Intourist Hotel, and a new five-star Ritz-Carlton hotel will be built on the site of the demolished Moscow Hotel. five-star Four Seasons hotel and apartments with a separate entrance from Revolution Square. In total, the hotel and apartments will be able to serve up to 1,500 people.

50% of all income from the Russian hotel business is concentrated in the capital. Moscow is the leader in the number of hotels compared to other Russian cities. The capital's hotel services market has become especially active since 2006. In accordance with the Master Plan for the Development of Moscow, the capacity of the city's hotel complex should increase by 200 thousand beds by 2015. At the same time, in the construction of new and reconstruction of existing hotels, priority will be given to investment projects for the construction of budget-class hotels at the two-three star level; their share in the total number of rooms at the end of the planning period should be 67.5%. In 2007, the capital's hotel stock is expected to increase to 70.2 thousand beds. Thus, the unrealized potential for further construction of hotel complex facilities in the capital is 129.8 thousand places, of which the majority (53.2%) are places in three-star hotels. It should be noted that in the coming years, a significant increase in the pace of construction of new hotel facilities in Moscow is expected. In accordance with the plans, the annual increase in the number of rooms should be at least 22 thousand places.

However, indicators characterizing the volume of development of the hotel sector in Russia remain lower than in other segments of the residential and commercial real estate market. This applies to both the number of facilities put into operation and the volume of space put into operation. In total, over the past 15 years, no more than 40 hotels have been built or reconstructed in Russia that meet modern requirements. Unfortunately, hotels as commercial real estate are still losing to their main competitors - retail, office and residential projects - in the struggle for investment. The reasons for this phenomenon are known: the implementation of hotel projects requires large investments.

Operating hotels incurs higher costs than competing industries. Accordingly, the payback period for hotel real estate projects is higher than for office, retail or residential real estate. The investor must be prepared for the fact that the invested funds will fully pay off only after 8-10 years from the start of construction of the facility.

The quantitative lag inevitably leads to consequences that characterize the qualitative differences between the hotel industry and other areas of commercial real estate, so it is not surprising that many elements that have become familiar to the most advanced segments of the market are still at the stage of formation and comprehension, including the existing taxation system.

The hotel sector as a whole uses a classic taxation scheme, which has a significant impact on the development of the concept, fundraising, construction, sale of services, and operation of the hotel fund.

The main obstacle to the hotel boom in Russian cities is not only the lack of financial resources for the implementation of projects, but also the lack of management mechanisms and an appropriate taxation system. At the same time, international tax experience shows that there is a way to overcome this obstacle by introducing special tax regimes, benefits for certain taxes, optimizing the entire tax system, reforming hotel structures, including through merging into hotel chains, as well as by dividing into a number of small structures.

At the present stage of development of the hotel business, the positions of large hotel chains are strengthening, and the competition for “their” client is intensifying. Increasing customer demands for the level of service, variety of services provided, and individualization of interests is forcing hotel complexes to change their marketing policies. This is primarily manifested in the fact that large hotel chains are beginning to reconsider their economic policies with a shift in emphasis to the market occupied by small and medium-sized hotels of lower categories. The problem of the current stage of development of the accommodation market is to ensure the possibility of coexistence of small and medium-sized enterprises with large hotel chains. All this has necessitated the search for new market strategies.

The European and global hotel industry is primarily focused on small businesses that help create diversified and unique hotel products. The relevance of creating small hotels in other cities of Russia, in turn, is due to the need to qualitatively expand the choice of places of residence and recreation for foreign and Russian guests of the capital. However, the development of the small business segment should be based on a number of principles:

Small hotels should be an organic part of the urban, business and cultural appearance of the city and be as close as possible to the most important display sites and areas of high tourist interest;
- the operation of small hotels should be carried out on the basis of modern management and taking into account specific technologies in the small hotel business;
- for small hotels, unified approaches to pricing, advertising and sales policies should be formed in order to ensure competitiveness and high quality of service.

Foreign experience shows that small hotels, complementing the segments of large and medium-sized hotels in economic terms, are less dependent on changes in the hotel services market and have the ability to quickly reorient prices, which ensures their high maneuverability and survival in the market. In addition, the unification of small hotels in chains with a single standard of service makes it possible to more effectively manage hotel enterprises, including through specialized management companies, which allows for the modernization of basic business processes. It is quite obvious that the centralization of management in the field of security, logistics, and the creation of unified reservation systems significantly reduces management costs and increases the profitability of small hotel enterprises, especially taking into account the introduced administrative and economic mechanisms to support small businesses.

The change in the structure of hotel services towards the creation of small hotels is expected to be carried out in a number of areas, regardless of the form of ownership of the main hotel assets. The typological features of small hotel business enterprises are that different organizational and legal forms of management are used. Thus, small hotels with a capacity of up to 100 rooms are managed by joint-stock companies, and hotels with a capacity of up to 50 rooms, as a rule, are managed by small enterprises. In the case of management of small hotels by small enterprises, the latter are subject to the relevant legislation and must be supported by the state through preferential systems of personnel training, taxation, lending, etc.

When creating a network of small hotels, their economic attractiveness for the participation of small businesses must be provided for, including a specific definition of the status of a small hotel with the provision of tax and other benefits, simplification of the procedure for their registration and the creation of a truly functioning mechanism for supporting small businesses in the hotel industry.

The implementation of projects to create a network of small hotels will significantly expand the scope of small businesses, which will become an important stage in the development of the entire tourist complex of Moscow and will provide significant and constant revenues to the city budget.

The basis of the activity of any enterprise in the hotel industry is the process of providing services, which must be organized in such a way as to ensure its effective operation. All activities of a hotel enterprise should be aimed at meeting the needs of the client, for which it is necessary to use modern forms and methods of providing various services.

A competent and systematically formed classification of services of a hotel-type enterprise helps to create conditions for organizing economically sound accounting of income and expenses of a given entity. In this regard, it becomes important to deeply understand the entire system of generating income and expenses of a hotel enterprise, since when providing a range of services, the enterprise faces the question of not only including costs in the cost of the order, but also about the distribution of costs between individual types of services.

Hotel-type enterprises provide their clients with a whole range of services, since in addition to accommodation and booking services, their balance sheet may include restaurants, bars, saunas, and parking lots, which undoubtedly emphasizes the complexity of the hotel services provided and requires the development of special approaches to generating hotel income.

Let's consider the main features of generating income for a hotel-type enterprise.

It should be noted that the provision of accommodation services is the main activity of a hotel enterprise, and revenue from this type of service is the main source of income. The specifics of accounting in the hotel business suggest that the fact of providing a service can be recognized both at the end of the entire period of renting a room, and on a daily basis. This is especially important when renting a room falls on two periods: the day of arrival - in one, and the day of departure - in the other.

In hotels, there are several options for recognizing revenue in accounting. Let us immediately note that the chosen option must be fixed in the accounting policy for income tax.

Option one- revenue is recognized at the end of the check-in period. Justification - the service can be considered fully provided only at the end of the term. The fact of service provision must be documented. In this case, the fact of service provision is registered when the client leaves, that is, in the next period. But at the end of the reporting (tax) period, such evidence simply does not exist. Revenue should be accrued when the visitor leaves. In addition, accrual of revenue on a daily basis is associated with additional labor costs and a more precise organization of work and document flow in the hotel, which is not always possible. At second option Revenue for hospitality businesses is recognized on a daily basis.

The procedure for documenting public catering services provided by hotel-type enterprises is established by the Rules for the provision of public catering services, approved by Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation of August 15, 1997 No. 1036 (as amended on May 21, 2001). It provides for issuing an invoice to a visitor to a bar, cafe, or hotel restaurant. Catering units (enterprises) located in the hotel provide services to both resident guests and outside visitors. Payment is possible in several ways - cash, credit card, credit to the guest's account, non-cash payment. Many hotel-type enterprises have a question about including the cost, as a rule, of breakfast (and possibly lunch and dinner) in the price of their stay. However, setting the cost of accommodation taking into account meals may lead to clients refusing the services provided. In this situation, it is possible to determine the cost of hotel services in two options: including and not including meals (that is, two options for the price list for hotel services). A detailed study of these options is especially important for guests, since a significant part of the hotel’s clients are business travelers, i.e. people whose room and board expenses are partially or fully paid by their company.

It should be noted that the same services for hotels of one category are additional, but for hotels of another category they are mandatory and, therefore, are included in the cost of accommodation as the main hotel service.

At the same time, the ambiguity in the definition of such concepts as costs, cost, price, tariffs for housing and communal services (HCS), etc. does not allow us to develop a unified approach to the formation of economic indicators in the system of hotel business enterprises. The existing cost-based approach to pricing does not stimulate cost reduction, but, on the contrary, encourages in some cases to artificially inflate them in order to increase the price of the service. This practice does not allow attracting investment into the industry, ignores the demand factor, making it impossible to forecast and plan the capacity of hotel enterprises.

Another feature of the hotel industry is that the production process in a hotel is implemented in the form of providing a certain hotel service. To produce and sell a range of services, the hotel industry has fixed and working capital. At the same time, the production and sale of services do not depend on time, i.e. the enterprise's constant readiness to provide services must be ensured. Due to uneven demand in the hotel industry, reserves of fixed, working and other assets must be provided.

In turn, the price of a hotel bed depends on the category of the hotel, room category, quality of service, discounts or surcharges for certain services. The basis for the formation of the price of a hotel service using the cost-based pricing method is the cost of the hotel service. All hotel-type enterprises offer special prices that provide discounts compared to basic prices. Special prices are fixed in separate price lists. These prices generally apply to the following categories:

Groups of foreign citizens of more than ten people;
- travel companies;
- regular guests;
- part-time accommodation, etc.

A balanced pricing policy of a hotel enterprise allows it to ensure planned income and ensure its stable development. It is quite obvious that the goals and content of a hotel’s economic policy and the structure of its economic activities largely depend on the category of the hotel.

The economic activities of a four- to five-star hotel, like any modern large enterprise, are multifaceted and heterogeneous, which is why most of the listed types of income are reflected in the hotel’s financial statements. However, some of them have their own peculiarity. So, for example, other non-operating income includes amounts paid by guests for service, the so-called service fee or, as they say, “tips.”

If the service fee is set by the hotel independently and is allocated as a separate line in the invoice (as a rule, hotel restaurants can work this way), it acts as an integral part of the cost of the services provided to the client, and payment of this amount is a mandatory condition that does not depend on the client’s wishes. In this case, “tips” are recognized as revenue from the provision of services and are reflected in the credit of account 90-1 “Revenue from sales” and the debit of account 62 “Settlements with buyers and customers.” These amounts are recognized as revenue on the basis of clause 12 of PBU 9/99. In practice, you can come across invoices for payment of services (for example, the same invoice for dinner or dry cleaning), in which the client independently inserted the amount of the “tip”. This usually happens when a guest pays with a credit card. He simply adds the amount of the “tip” to the total bill. In our opinion, such amounts should be taken into account by hotels as part of non-operating income on the basis that in order to recognize them as revenue, the conditions established by the same paragraph 12 of PBU 9/99 are not met. In particular, the amount of revenue cannot be determined, since guests enter the amount of “tip” at their own discretion and it is impossible to predict them. In addition, hotels have no rights to claim these amounts. One way or another, the presence of the amount of service fees in the hotel bill for the services provided by it entails the reflection of these amounts as part of non-operating income. However, it would be quite fair for the hotel to thank this employee by including the specified amount in his income, which will undoubtedly increase the motivation of conscientious employees.

For example, a hotel may initially not recognize “tip” amounts as its income, but include the entire amount received in the employee’s income. The following must be taken into account. When tips are included in the full amount of the employees' income, the hotel becomes the employees' personal income tax agent, although it is not the source of the payment of the income. Options for recognizing “tips” as income are shown in the table.

Table 1

Options for recognizing tips as income

No.	Payment form option for “tip”	Income recognition procedure	Taxation
1	The service fee is included in the invoice, highlighted on one line and paid in full by the client	Accounted for as part of income from ordinary activities	Taken into account in the tax base when calculating VAT and income tax
2	“Tips” are paid at the discretion of the client and are not systematic: 1) the amount of “tip” is impersonal; 2) the client indicates a specific employee who is encouraged	1) taken into account as part of other income; 2) the hotel acts as an intermediary for the transfer of such amounts as intended	1) taken into account in the tax base when calculating VAT and income tax; 2) the hotel must ensure that personal income tax is withheld from the amount of income received by the employee

There is another, simpler and beneficial way for both parties to account for service fees. The hotel recognizes the entire amount of “tips” received as part of its income (as already mentioned, non-operating), and employees are paid bonuses in the amount of these same “tips”. Only in this case, the hotel needs to provide in the bonus regulations the procedure for distributing these “tips”. The presence of such a provision is necessary so that the hotel can include the amount of the bonus paid as part of the expenses that reduce the tax base for profit under the item “Wage expenses”.

Since, in accordance with Article 255 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, labor costs include any accruals to employees in cash and (or) in kind, incentive accruals, bonuses, compensation accruals related to working hours or working conditions, bonuses and one-time incentive accruals, expenses, related to the maintenance of these workers, provided for by the norms of the legislation of the Russian Federation, labor agreements (contracts) and (or) collective agreements.

As for tax accounting, these amounts will also be recognized as non-operating income. With regard to VAT, it should be noted that in this case, the amounts of “tips” received are subject to inclusion in the VAT taxable base as amounts associated with the sale of goods (work, services).

It should be noted that the peculiarities of the functioning of the modern hotel business involve the creation of additional attractive factors for guests. Such attractiveness factors are incentives or, as hotel workers also call them, “compliments,” which are an integral part of the entire global hotel business. “Compliments” appeared in Russian hotels relatively recently, mainly thanks to foreign experience in hospitality. Each hotel, depending on its level and status, has its own ideas about “compliments” and the procedure for providing them to clients. But be that as it may, essentially, a “compliment” is a sign of attention to a specific guest, which, as a rule, is expressed in providing this guest with some kind of gift from the hotel.

Basically, “compliments” are divided into two groups.

First group includes incentives included in the price of the room the guest checks into. For example, a luxury room requires the presence of a bowl of fruit and a bottle of champagne with gratitude to the guest for visiting this hotel. At the same time, a standard single room in the same hotel does not provide such increased attention to the guest.

Second group represents “compliments” that are aimed at a specific visitor, regardless of which room he will stay in. This usually applies to VIPs. Again, depending on the level and star rating of the hotel, the concept of a “VIP person” may vary. As a rule, such guests include famous politicians, businessmen, film, theater, pop, television stars, etc. These may also be official representatives of other states, diplomatic missions or representatives of the clergy. At the same time, it is obvious that the higher the status and importance of the guest, the higher the attention paid to him by the hotel staff, and the compliments for this guest will differ from the “compliments” that the hotel will give to less expensive guests.

In accounting, these expenses are recognized as expenses for ordinary activities and are recorded in account 44 “Sales expenses”, subaccount “Compliments” 1.

For tax purposes, incentive expenses will be recognized as material expenses and will reduce the tax base for income tax. However, in order for the hotel to have no doubts in recognizing the expenses incurred as legitimate, and, most importantly, economically justified, it is necessary to draw up another document “Calculation of the number of rooms”. It is compiled, as a rule, by employees of the hotel’s economic service and represents the calculated cost of the room being sold. In this case, all direct, as well as part of the indirect costs of the hotel are included in the calculation. This takes into account the cost of “compliments” that the hotel supposedly gives to its guests for free. In this regard, the hotel must develop and approve internal regulations regulating the procedure for providing incentives to customers. This document should reflect the following:

The circle of people who, in accordance with hotel standards, are entitled to “compliments”. For example, presidents and heads of state, ambassadors, presidents of large international corporations, etc. It is necessary to indicate an exhaustive list of persons who can be given “compliments”;
- a detailed list of “compliments” offered to guests. If there is a gradation in the provision of incentives depending on the status of the guest, it is necessary to clearly and completely indicate all possible types of compliments with reference to the circle of people to whom they are due;
- the procedure for transmitting information about the need to deliver a “compliment” to the room.

The absence of this document can significantly affect the tax consequences for the hotel. After all, nothing other than this calculation is possible to confirm the fact that the guest paid for all the courtesies offered to him. There is a real risk of additional assessment of value added tax on the basis of paragraph 1 of Article 146 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation. At the same time, the cost of these products will not be recognized for profit tax purposes (in accordance with paragraph 16 of Article 270 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation).

The point of view presented above regarding the fact that “for tax purposes, incentive expenses will be recognized as material expenses and will reduce the tax base for income tax” was expressed by K.A. Kurkina. However, not everyone can share his point of view with this author, since this type of expense is not directly provided for by the tax code among the expenses for the provision of services. In our opinion, it should be noted that clause 19.1, clause 5 of Article 265, introduced into the Tax Code of the Russian Federation by Federal Law No. 58-FZ dated 06.06.2005, states that expenses in the form of a premium (discount) paid ( provided) by the seller to the buyer due to the fulfillment of certain conditions of the contract, in particular the volume of purchases. It can be assumed that the type of income in question fits the introduced wording in Article 265 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation.

To summarize, we can conclude that over the past few years, the domestic tourism industry has significantly brought the quality of services provided closer to the world level.

The flow of both tourists traveling abroad and tourists arriving in Russia has increased, and consequently, the need has arisen to create new, more modern and comfortable accommodation facilities, catering establishments and other enterprises serving tourists. In our opinion, the regional authorities have chosen the right direction - increasing the number of small hotels in Russia, since in many respects this is the most optimal option for attracting and increasing the flow of tourists to our country.

However, it is necessary to carefully plan every step of this project, since its successful development and completion depends on many factors: from the quality of labor resources to the financial policies of specific business entities.

Unfortunately, at present, a systematic approach to the development of the entire hotel complex of the country has not been developed, there is no methodological basis for the development of legislative and regulatory documents related to accommodation issues, therefore, the optimal way, in our opinion, seems to be the following way to solve the problem: introducing amendments to the Tax Code of the Russian Federation ( composition of costs and income of hotel-type enterprises). The adoption of these measures will ensure sustainable growth of the hotel services market.

The formation of an effective and competitive hotel and tourist complex will undoubtedly be facilitated by certain transformations, providing for the introduction of the most effective forms and methods of regulating economic activity, adequate to the conditions of a market economy and the economic reforms being carried out in Russia.

The development of the tourism sector, in turn, will ensure significant revenues to the city budget, primarily due to the growth of taxes and payments received as a result of a significant increase in income from the sale of tourism services and other types of economic activities associated with them.

Literature

1. Civil Code of the Russian Federation. Parts 1 and 2.
2. Tax Code of the Russian Federation. Part one and part two.
3. Decree of the Moscow Government of May 28, 1996 No. 449. “On the program for the development of the hotel and tourist complex in Moscow.”
4. Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation of April 25, 1997 No. 490 (as amended on October 2, 1999, September 15, 2000) “On approval of the Rules for the provision of hotel services in the Russian Federation.”
5. Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation of April 25, 1997 No. 490 (as amended on February 1, 2005) “On approval of the rules for the provision of hotel services in the Russian Federation.”
6. Decree of the Moscow Government of 08.08.2000 No. 602. “On the main provisions of the Tourism Development Program in Moscow for the period until 2010.”
7. Decree of the Moscow Government of March 26, 2002 No. 208. “On the concept of integrated development of the tourist and recreational zone “Golden Ring of Moscow” and priority measures for its implementation.”
8. Order of the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation dated July 29, 1998 No. 34n “On approval of the Regulations on accounting and financial reporting in the Russian Federation.”
9. Order of the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation “On approval of the accounting regulations “Accounting policy of the organization” PBU1/98” dated December 09, 1998 No. 60n.
10. Order of the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation dated May 6, 1999 No. 32n “On approval of the accounting regulations “Income of the organization” PBU 9/99.”
11. Order of the Ministry of Economic Development of the Russian Federation dated June 21, 2003 No. 197 “On approval of the Regulations on the state system of classification of hotels and other accommodation facilities.”
12. Order of the Federal Tourism Agency dated July 21, 2005 No. 86 “On approval of the classification system for hotels and other accommodation facilities.”
13. Order of the Mayor of Moscow dated January 22, 1997 No. 53-RM (as amended on May 14, December 16, 1997, July 13, 1998, August 17, 1999, March 24, 2000). “On the creation of a network of small hotels in Moscow.”
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The article looks into the issues of operations and development of the hospitality business which economic potential is growing steadily and has a significant influence on rising competitiveness of the national economy on the whole and the rapid development of the related industries. The author points out that the hospitality industry dynamic development substantially relies on looking into hospitality services accounting specifics, and on implementing efficient forms and techniques of regulating and supporting small hotels development.

1 Kurkina K.A. Hotel business. Features of accounting and taxation. - M.: Vershina, 2006. - P.161.

It is extremely important for the hotel business that guests who visit the hotel come back again and again. At the same time, the determining role is not always played by high status or, conversely, the most affordable price for a room. Creating a loyalty program and posting hotel bonuses and compliments in online catalogs will help form long-term contacts with customers.

As a result of studies conducted in the USA and many European countries, it was revealed that a certain part of enterprises in various sectors of the economy, including tourism, acquire or maintain their leading position due to increased attention to. This kind of activity is based on constant study of clients, understanding their specifics and work characteristics, developing convenient service schemes, etc.

Developing special approaches to clients is a significant factor in client retention. Forming his loyalty and commitment to the enterprise ultimately ensures success even in a crisis in the market. This success factor is called the loyalty effect.

In the formation of a loyal audience in the tourism market of Russia and the CIS countries, an important role is played by the placement of hotel bonuses and compliments on large information tourism projects, one of which is our partner project TopHotels. serves as an additional incentive for the hotel community to choose a particular hotel. Pleasant bonuses for tourists are a special sign of attention and an indicator of customer focus. A tourist who uses them is highly likely to leave a positive review of the hotel, thereby increasing its rating and, as a result, its position among the resort hotels. According to the results of surveys conducted on TopHotels, more than half of users, when choosing a hotel, pay attention primarily to the availability of bonuses and compliments. The larger the hotel’s loyalty program, the number and quality of bonuses provided, the more customers, under equal conditions, will choose this particular hotel.

Together with the partner project HotelsBonus, a five-point scale was compiled, reflecting the generosity of the hotel's bonuses and compliments. This is a dynamic indicator that depends on the hotel’s activity on the website: the quantity and quality of bonuses provided, the presence of its own loyalty program, confirmation of applications for bonuses and compliments, and answers to tourists’ questions. If tourists positively evaluate the quality of the presentation of bonuses and compliments in the form of reviews, the rating increases. However, if the hotel remains inactive, then over time the rating will noticeably drop.

The TOP 5 “generous” hotels included:

1. Savoy Sharm El Sheikh 5*, Egypt, Sharm El Sheikh

• Generosity scale score: 3.9
• 5 compliments
• 6 bonuses
• Loyalty program

2. Grand Plaza Hotel 4*, Egypt, Hurghada

• Generosity scale score - 3.55
• 4 compliments
• Loyalty program

3. Royal Savoy 5*, Egypt, Sharm El Sheikh

• Generosity scale score - 3.29
• 5 compliments
• Loyalty program

4. The Royal Apollonia 5*, Cyprus, Limassol

• Generosity scale score - 3.24
• 3 compliments
• Loyalty program

5. Baron Palace Sahl Hasheesh 5*, Egypt, Sahl Hasheesh

• 5 compliments
• Loyalty program

A more detailed list of “generous” hotels with their loyalty program can be found on the website of the partner project

Hotels often use special offers to attract customers. These could be some kind of compliments (gifts) or unusual services.

Most tourists write in their hotel reviews about which exclusive offers they liked, detailing the special services and compliments they received. In most cases, the set of compliments and special services in hotels is standard, but some hotels try to surprise their guests. Booking.com, which publishes the best hotel ratings, even has a separate category: the most memorable compliments.

It included:

Catalonia Square Hotel 4* in Barcelona, ​​where guests are served free snacks throughout the day.

Residence Agnes 4 * in Prague, where there is unlimited access to free drinks and free transport from the hotel to any place at the request of the client.

The Z Hotel Liverpool 3 *, where guests are treated to a glass of wine and a cheese plate in the evenings.

Grand Hotel Europe 5 * in St. Petersburg treats you to fruit, wine, champagne and coffee made according to a special recipe in honor of the hotel’s 140th anniversary. For special guests - special compliments. So, for the world chess champion, the hotel's confectioners prepared a chessboard with chocolate figures, and for a famous musician, a chocolate piano with sweets.

Carlton Hotel Baglioni 5 * in Milan. There are several special offers for guests who stay at the hotel for 2 days or more. Fresh flowers, water, pastries and fresh fruit are brought to your room. Guests staying in our signature suites: Art Déco, Leonardo and Montenapoleone can dine in the restaurant free of charge, enjoy free drinks from the minibar or enjoy free one-way transport. Also, clients can choose from one of the services free of charge: renting a conference room, personal shopper for an adult or nanny for a child.

Waldorf Astoria Hotels & Resorts 5* chain. There, guests can ride a supercar along one of the specially prepared routes in the company of famous racers. This promotion began on May 15 at Trianon Palace Versailles in France and by the end of the year will be held at 12 of the 26 resorts of the chain in Europe, America and the United Arab Emirates. The promotion is not free: $999 for two plus the cost of hotel accommodation. However, if you choose the Drive & Drive package, you will get a free round of golf, and if you choose the Drive & Dine package, you will be able to dine at the signature restaurant for free.

Radisson Royal Hotel Moscow 5*. Here, guests of the club floor and regular guests are treated to “edible” compliments in their rooms: nuts, berries, olives, olives. For newlyweds, Mr&Mrs. signs are placed in the suites, the bathroom is decorated with rose petals and aromatic oil is given as a gift. In addition, guests are offered a free river cruise on a Radisson Royal flotilla yacht and souvenirs. One of the most popular souvenirs is a magnet in the shape of a nesting doll, which foreigners really like.

Four Seasons Hotel Moscow. This hotel pampers guests with sweet gifts. Thus, newlyweds are given a small cake as a compliment. And those guests who indicate when booking that they want traditional Russian service receive gingerbread cookies and tea as a gift. Regular hotel clients are offered nut cakes, and VIP guests are offered champagne and a plate of fruit. Children are also always very welcome in this hotel and there are nesting dolls for coloring in every room.

Maxim Marusenkov, public relations specialist at The Ritz-Carlton Moscow, spoke about what “compliments” or “courtesy” from hotels are. This concept includes both various gifts for guests and additional free services. This could be a fruit plate for guests upon arrival, toiletries in the room, free wi-fi, free shoe shine or free access to the hotel spa. At the Ritz-Carlton Moscow hotel itself, guests are given “delicious” compliments: wine, sweets, desserts, berries and fruits. For example, there is a greeting with fruit drink and fresh berries, a vegetarian greeting, or a trio of Russian salads. For those who have ordered the Grand Romance package, arrangements of fresh flowers, pralines and champagne are delivered to their room.

Natalya Gorguraki, Director of Sales and Marketing at the DoubleTree by Hilton Moscow - Marina hotel, is confident that compliments for guests emphasize respect and gratitude for choosing this hotel. She says that guests like attention and good treatment, and it is likely that next time they will also stay at this hotel or at another hotel in the same chain. At the DoubleTree by Hilton Moscow - Marina hotel, guests will be greeted with chocolate and warm cookies upon arrival. For regular customers, champagne and fruit are left in the room.

Imagine, we have been vacationing abroad for so many years, I always look at reviews on http://tophotels.ru, but I never knew about the bonuses that you can get. Thanks to the kind people for the tips and help!
As always, I’m sharing with you interesting things I’ve learned :)
Register on the site -http://tophotels.ru
There are traveler ratings there - I don’t know what they give, but we register to receive bonuses.

Different hotels offer different bonuses, so-called compliments from the hotel.
It could be:

• Compliment from the hotel for newlyweds


• Birthday compliment from the hotel


• Compliment from the hotel for a wedding anniversary


• Compliment from the hotel for regular guests


• A compliment from the hotel if you mark “Going to the hotel”


• Compliment from the hotel "Let's collect a library"- I saw such a promotion at one of the hotels, although we didn’t choose it in the end. If you bring 5 books to the hotel, you receive a compliment.

etc.

Compliments can be different (each hotel prescribes this) - fruits, wine in the room, an invitation to a restaurant, etc.

I just bite my elbows and all parts of the body that I didn’t know about this before :))))

We went abroad on our honeymoon, and celebrated so many birthdays in hotels (because my husband and all the children were born in the summer :)) And we went to one hotel 4 times (though once they did bring us fruit to our room - Apparently, they saw it in their database).

This year we went to a 5***** hotel, but it was a very budget one. The hotel did not offer any compliments, not even for checking in "GOING TO THE HOTEL" But we still got a bonus :)

On the website, when you look at the description of any hotel, there is RESERVATION CHECK.
Write your details there and wait for a response from the hotel. I don’t know, however, whether having a reservation will protect you from the situation that happened last year, when many tours turned out to be unpaid and tourists were evicted due to the bankruptcy of tour operators?
In response from the hotel representative about the reservation, I wrote my ROOM REQUESTS (with sea view, floor, etc.) Because There are a lot of us, we bought two standard rooms (although we managed to exchange them for one family room on the spot), it was important for me that these two rooms were next to each other. As I understand it, there are no guarantees that you will be provided with the number you ask for in your application, but there is a chance.
We arrived at the hotel at 8 am. Checking in at 14:00 is normal, you just need to wait for this time, don’t be nervous, don’t freak out that they don’t give you a room earlier (as tourists often write in negative reviews). We checked in at the hotel, I said that I left a request through the website http://tophotels.ru, and we were ready to wait for lunch (we were already used to it). In response, they told me that our rooms were ready (although other tourists were sitting in the lobby waiting for their rooms).

And now briefly:

1. Look on the website for your hotel where you bought tickets - http://tophotels.ru/
In general, I always read reviews there before choosing a hotel.
2. Register on this site if you have not done so before.
3. See information about the hotel, what compliments they offer. And act as described. If it is written, check “GOING TO THE HOTEL” - you will receive a compliment, and do so.
4. Check your HOTEL RESERVATION and, in response to confirmation, send ROOM WISHES.
5. When checking in, tell the reception what is on the website

2.2.1 Organization of reception and service for VIP guests

And first, we will describe the Baikal Business Center hotel in more detail.

So, “Baikal Business Center” was founded in 1997, and is one of the most famous hotels in our city (Fig. 4).

Rice. 4. Hotel "Baikal Business Center"

"Baikal Business Center" is a modern business hotel located in an ecological area of ​​Irkutsk, 5 minutes from the airport. All conditions for relaxation and fruitful work have been created here. It offers 57 rooms of various categories, equipped with everything necessary for a comfortable stay. Buffet breakfast is included in the price.

The hotel's room capacity is represented by the following categories:

single standard.

Room area 14 sq. m, consisting of one living room with one large bed and a bathroom with shower, designed to accommodate one or two people (Fig. 5)

Fig.5. Single standard room “Baikal Business Center”

single superior.

Room area 19 sq. m, consisting of one living room with one large bed and a bathroom with shower, designed to accommodate one or two people (Fig. 6).

Rice. 6. Single superior room “Baikal Business Center”

Double Room.

Comfortable double room, total room area - 20 m². It consists of a living room with two beds and a bathroom with a modern shower. A double hotel room can accommodate two or one person. Children can also stay in the room. A married couple can order a room with a double bed (twin) (Fig. 7).

Rice. 7. Double room “Baikal Business Center”

studio room.

The studio room at the Baikal Business Center hotel has everything necessary for a comfortable stay for one or two people (Fig. 8).

Rice. 8. Studio “Baikal Business Center”

It is perfectly suited for business people flying to Irkutsk for a conference or business meeting. Tourists and couples who dream of visiting Baikal and the city’s attractions often stay at the hotel. The room consists of: a sleeping area with a comfortable bed; relaxation areas with TV and minibar; bathroom with shower, hairdryer and personal hygiene items. The room also has a work area with a desk, safe and telephone.

luxury room.

The total area of ​​the room is 52 m². Guests have at their disposal: 2 cozy rooms with a work area (bedroom and living room), as well as a bathroom (Fig. 9). The luxury room has modern and comfortable furniture: a spacious double bed; desk; luggage cabinet; wardrobe; chairs and poufs.

Rice. 9. Suite “Baikal Business Center”

apartments.

A room consisting of 3 living rooms (2 bedrooms with bathrooms, a living room), an entrance hall, a kitchen with kitchen equipment, and an additional guest toilet, room area 165 m2. The cost of living in such a room does not depend on the tariffs indicated below and the number of residents - 24,000 per day.

All rooms have Wi-Fi, minibar, TV, telephone, hairdryer and personal products (disposable combs, soap, shampoos, towels). All rooms are well cleaned and serviced to the highest standard - the staff is always ready to help guests with any household issues.

Despite the fact that the Baikal Business Center is a four-star hotel, the prices for rooms here are very affordable (Table 1). All prices include Buffet breakfast. Tariffs differ in payment methods: with the “Weekend” tariff, payment is made upon check-in, with the “Non-refundable” tariff - online payment on the hotel website through the booking form using a bank card or electronic money, with the "Basic" tariff - by any method.

Table 1

Cost of rooms at the Baikal Business Center hotel per 1 night, by room type, rub.

	Number of adults			Double	Single superior	Single
Weekend tariff
Tariff "Non-refundable"
Tariff "Basic"

* 2 adults + 1 extra bed

In case of prepayment, free cancellation of the reservation is not possible. When canceling a reservation, 100% of the cost of the first night will be charged.

It is noteworthy that you can book a room on the hotel website, and this significantly saves money for guests than when booking through specialized websites, where the price is indicated taking into account the commission.

Payment for hotel accommodation is charged in accordance with a single checkout time - from 12 o'clock on the current day, local time. Check-in earlier than check-out time is possible if rooms are available. To guarantee early check-in, the room is booked from the previous day and paid per day.

In case of delay in the consumer's departure, the payment for accommodation is charged in the following order: no more than 6 hours after check-out time - hourly payment; from 6 to 12 hours after checkout time - half a day fee; from 12 to 24 hours after checkout time – payment for a full day.

So, the number of rooms at the Baikal Business Center is 57 rooms. Most of them are rooms of the “Single Superior” and “Double” classes (Fig. 10).

The development of partnerships is one of the priorities of the Baikal Business Center. Active cooperation with the most successful companies on the market allows us to present our clients with the most profitable and effective offers and constantly improve the level of service and comfort.

Fig. 10. Rooms at the Baikal Business Center, pcs.

Thus, Baikal Business Center cooperates with Ural Airlines. When registering at the Baikal Business Center hotel, you must present a card of a participant in the Wings bonus program; depending on the room category, the corresponding bonus bonuses will be credited to it (Table 2).

table 2

Accrual of bonus rubles for accommodation at the Baikal Business Center under the Wings affiliate program

As part of this work, we conducted a survey of guests of the Baikal Business Center hotel. A questionnaire was used for the survey (Appendix 1). 98 people took part in the survey – 48 men and 50 women. The survey was conducted during the calendar month – from April 1 to May 1, 2016.

Survey participants were asked questions about the quality of service at the hotel. To attract people to the survey, the structure of the questionnaire is designed in such a way as to be simple and accessible to hotel guests.

Questions should not be equated to the status of guests (that is, be the same for “ordinary” and VIP guests). The survey was conducted anonymously. The questions are of a general nature, aimed at a specific area of ​​activity - improving the quality of service, about the hotel as a whole, about the organization and quality of food and service. Based on the survey results, the following conclusions can be drawn:

In general, 60% of respondents gave an “excellent” rating (see Appendix 1, question 9) (Fig. 11), and none of the respondents gave an “unsatisfactory” rating; this, of course, indicates the high quality of guest service.

The survey results revealed that the most important component of a hotel service is a warm welcome, so all respondents rated this component “good” or “excellent.” Such components of the questionnaire as cleanliness in the room and catering in the restaurant have almost the same importance in the eyes of the consumer.

At the same time, most guests are not provided with the important presence of air conditioning in the room. However, the seasonality of the survey should be taken into account here. By summer, the demand for such numbers increases. And according to this criterion, one can also note the care for the guests, because each room is equipped with air conditioning.

The quality of communication and Internet services was highly rated. 80% of respondents rated this criterion “excellent”.

The survey results showed that 70% of respondents were business tourists. “Baikal Business Center” has repeatedly confirmed its status as a congress hotel. All conditions have been created for business tourists.

Hotel guests highly appreciate the comfort and room service. But the criteria “room service” and “restaurant service” were rated as “unsatisfactory” twice each. Also, 10 guests, out of the total number of respondents, were foreign tourists. They highly appreciated the staff's command of foreign languages.

The presence of private parking was appreciated by many guests. The general results of the survey are given in Appendix 2. Hotel management can conduct similar surveys to identify customer needs, as well as promptly solve problems.

In the first chapter of the work, the technology of receiving VIP guests at a hotel and the specifics of such a reception were already briefly discussed. As part of the topic under study, we will use the example of the system for receiving and serving such guests at the Baikal Business Center. We will consider the example of Lyubov Uspenskaya, who stayed at the hotel from April 16 to April 19, 2016, as well as the organization of her concert on April 17 at the hotel.

Let's look at the system step by step.

Stage 1 – reservation.

Upon receipt of an application for booking rooms for VIP clients, management is immediately informed. Guests of special attention, depending on the category, are personally met at the hotel by the general director, his deputy, guest relations manager or duty manager and escorted to their room. Information required for booking and general information is entered into the reservation system. The status of a special attention guest is noted in the system. A VIP application is issued for a special guest.

Considering that the guest also wants to hold a concert, you should book a large conference room for the selected date in the booking; if this date is busy, you should notify about the next available dates. The Baikal Business Center Hotel has enormous experience working with VIP guests. Every year, celebrities, prominent figures in politics, culture, art, and sports live at the hotel. VIP guests staying at the Baikal Business Center hotel in 2016: Medvedev D.A., Deripaska O.V., Lamshin G.A., Leonid Agutin, Elena Vorobey, Lyubov Uspenskaya, Evgeny Grigoriev, Alexander Baluev, Anastasia Makeeva , Nargiz, Anton Makarsky (Fig. 12), KVN team “Kamyzyaki”.

Rice. 12. Anton Makarsky at the Baikal Business Center and his review

Stage 2 – preparation for the reception.

Before the guest arrives, the manager must determine which room to provide him with. When booking a room for a VIP guest, his status is taken into account and one of the best hotel rooms is assigned, usually “Lux” and “Studio” rooms.

All rooms are inspected by the hotel management before the arrival of special attention guests and during their stay at the hotel. The Manager or Deputy Manager must ensure that the Housekeeping Manager has checked the rooms prior to the arrival of VIP guests. The Manager/Guest Relations Officer must review and ensure that all guest preferences and special requests are taken into account when assigning a room to a VIP guest. The manager/guest relations employee must prepare a personalized welcome letter/card signed by the manager and place it in the room on the bed/nightstand or table near the bed. The manager/employee of the guest relations department must check the equipment of the room with a “compliment from the hotel”, taking into account the category of VIP guest. The “compliment” should be brought to the room before the guest arrives (if the arrival time is known). Mineral water should be near the bed and in the bathroom.

Types of compliments from the hotel:

1. VIP 1 – Assorted fruit

2. VIP 2 – Coffee (Cappuccino, Americano, Latte, Espresso)

3. VIP 3 – Cookies

4. VIP 4 – Any dish according to the restaurant menu (in agreement with the restaurant manager).

VIP guests of the Baikal Business Center hotel are invited to become participants in the Siberian Collection loyalty program. Program participants become “collectors” of bonus points and privileges from hotels and restaurants. The guest can take advantage of a card discount when paying for hotel services, or pay the full cost of services with a discount accrued, the discount is given according to the card denomination (Table 3).

Table 3

Loyalty program "Siberian Collection" of the Baikal Business Center Hotel

	Conditions for providing the tariff	Privileges and discounts for regular guests
Power of the Mountains	For one-time use of hotel services	5% discount on accommodation, use of business center services 1 hour free 5% discount on the restaurant's main menu
Meadow Freshness	Provided when using hotel services in the amount of RUR 100,001, or more than 20 visits	10% discount on accommodation, 1 hour free use of business center services 7% discount on the restaurant's main menu Compliment from the laundry service
Secret of the Forest	Provided when using hotel services in the amount of RUB 500,001, or more than 50 visits	Discount on accommodation 15% Mineral water and cookies in the room 50% discount on sauna services Business center services 1 hour free
Siberian spirit	Provided when using hotel services in the amount of RUB 800,001, or more than 80 visits	20% discount on accommodation Business center services 3 hours free 50% discount on sauna services 1 cup of coffee as a gift Mineral water cookies in the room 10% discount on the main menu of the restaurant

Stage 3 – arrival of the guest.

The procedures for meeting, registering and placing a VIP guest must be completed as quickly as possible and with the least amount of inconvenience for the guest.

Before arrival, the employee must determine the name of the VIP guest from the arrival list. The employee restores all the details of the guest’s history (guest’s personal card/menu section in the ACS “Guest History”); in advance, before the guest’s arrival, fills out a registration card with the VIP guest’s data; assigns a room number in advance, taking into account the guest’s status, room category and length of stay, and programs the electronic key; prepares a case for the electronic key; must make sure that all the amenities required by the guest’s status, as well as his special requests, are fulfilled; inspects the VIP guest’s room and makes sure it is ready; Places the key card and registration card in the hotel's corporate folder.

The servant and doorman meet the guest near the main entrance to the hotel. The employee greets the guest according to the standard according to the time of day; informs the hotel management about the arrival of a VIP guest; offers the guest a welcome alcoholic or soft drink; registers the guest, inviting him to familiarize himself and, if he agrees, put his signature on the completed registration card; provides the guest with a bellhop who will escort him to his room. The client registration procedure can be simplified - the guest is asked to fill out registration forms in the hotel lobby or even in his room.

The bellman must give the guest time to put down his hand luggage and take off his outer clothing; familiarize the guest with the amenities, equipment and facilities of the room; inquire about the guest’s wishes and offer, for example, to order dinner in the room or a table in a restaurant.

Stage 4 – maintenance.

VIP rooms are regularly inspected by management throughout their stay to ensure high standards of service are maintained.

In the Avantage restaurant, VIP clients can have their meals prepared to order and served directly to their room.

During the stay of VIPs at the Baikal Business Center hotel, their special wishes and preferences are never forgotten. The hotel keeps records of the preferences of all regular or VIP guests. The hotel tries to satisfy the needs of customers as much as possible, as long as this does not go beyond reasonable limits and does not cause inconvenience to other guests or harm the hotel staff.

Considering that during the guest’s stay, the organization of his concert involves organizing his concert, installation work and preparation of equipment begin on the day of the concert. A guest may be provided with one of the meeting rooms during the concert. Accordingly, such a room should be equipped with everything necessary. After the concert, the hotel management sends flowers and/or champagne to the guest's room as a sign of gratitude and admiration.

Stage 5 – departure of the guest.

Before departure: the preliminary invoice is printed in advance and provided to the guest for review in a special folder/envelope on the day of departure/on the eve of departure. The guest must be offered in advance the service of delivering luggage from the room to the vehicle. Guests must be informed in advance of the luggage storage service, which will be stored separately or loaded into the vehicle when required.

The director/deputy director of the hotel (depending on the guest’s status) must personally thank the guest upon departure. The employee must check for undelivered mail and messages before the guest departs.

All guest expenses must be accurately recorded and upgrades added (minibar, telephone, etc.). All disputed charges must be processed promptly and courteously. The invoice must be provided to the guest in a company folder containing the hotel brochure. Upon departure, the VIP guest is thanked for his stay at the hotel and wishes to return again.

Thus, the reception and service of this type of guests must be organized by the hotel at the highest level, both to maintain its reputation and to attract other guests of the same type. The presence of a conference room suitable for holding small concerts makes the hotel more attractive for musicians and actors. In this case, the hotel management may provide various discounts when renting a hall or rooms.