041-44_TTGB russia feature 5/11/08 12:40 Page 44
44 Russia
Improving hotel standards
Local airports are improving, and customer service is now
The lowdown on doing
taken seriously as domestic and international hotel chains
business in Russia
spread from the Baltic to the Pacific. This means that
corporate travellers now feel more at home in Russia.
For instance, on arrival at the Giuseppe Hotel in
central Kazan at 4am, I was met by a receptionist who
spoke perfect English.
“Russian business people are travelling more, so they
THE BIGGEST
understand international business etiquette, as well as
CHALLENGE IS
what foreign travellers expect,” explains Lyutsia
Galyamova, manager at the Kazan tourist office.
GETTING
According to a straw poll by ttgbusiness, the hot
BUSINESSES TO
business travel destinations in Russia for 2009 include
PLAN THEIR VISA
Nizhny, Yekaterinburg, Kazan, Kaliningrad, Omsk and
APPLICATIONS
Samara, while the Black Sea resort of Sochi is on the rise
since it won the bid to host the Winter Olympics in 2014.
AND NOT TO However, Michael Donald of One Event Media Group
LEAVE IT TO THE
remarks that the quality of regional hotels is not always
LAST MINUTE
that good, and prices are still high. “There are many small
L55473 Learn a few phrases in L55476 Trust, more than
companies developing and the biggest challenge is lack of
Russian – it goes a long anything, will cement a
training and also a shortfall in workers,” he explains. way here. “You do need deal in Russia. It is worth
some words. People here getting to know your local
Vis-a-vis visas
want to help, but find it counterpart – more so than
Last year, Donald organised the relaunch of a Smirnoff
difficult. There is certainly you would back home.
vodka brand for the global drinks firm Diageo in Moscow.
a duty of care and a sense
His company brought more than 250 people from 15
of responsibility for people
L55477 Vodka is often served
from overseas,” says the
along with firm handshakes
countries to Russia for the event, flying executives, press
tourist office’s Lyutsia
during business lunches.
and stakeholders into three airports.
Galyamova.
Each person at the table
“The biggest challenge was getting businesses to plan
can be expected to stand
their visa applications and not to leave it to the last
L55474 It is good to familiarise up and make a toast.
minute. I recommend using agents to do this work, unless
yourself with the Cyrillic
you want to stand in long queues at a Russian consulate,”
script. Overseas visitors can
L55478 Don’t get worried or
be surprised by the lack of
nervous if you are kept
he explains. “For US citizens the process is more time
English signs. This can be
waiting when you arrive for
consuming, and if you have visited Pakistan in the past
disconcerting if you are
a meeting. Schedules in
year, you need to take specialist advice.”
looking for a street name or
Russia constantly shift and
Visa issues put off large business groups due to cost
your stop on the Metro.
change, so be flexible.
and inconvenience. “St Petersburg would be full every
L55479 Many superstitions can
winter with incentive travellers if Russia relaxed the visas
L55475 Russians can be direct,
and do not always make
be taken seriously in
for corporate groups,” says Lloyd. Stewart-Sandeman
small talk. They can
Russia. Don’t shake hands
reiterates this point with respect to his business trip to
dispense with the social
through a doorway, light up
Kazan: “It is hard to plan a visit, without being sure that
niceties that grease the
a cigarette from a candle or
you will actually get a visa. So I would recommend that wheels in many Western
whistle indoors.
you plan your trip well ahead, just in case.” board rooms. However, if
you have an in-your-face
Warm welcome
way of doing business, leave
There was one thing, though, that Sandeman-Stewart
it at home. Being pushy is
and I both experienced in Kazan that we won’t forget
impolite here, and it could
– the hospitality. “In historical times, the city was known
cost you the entire deal.
for this, and it is still true to this day,” says Rushania
Salihovna, manager of one of the city’s museums, as she
pours out copious tea from a traditional tea urn, or
Samovar. Russia’s regions may not boast all the executive
trimmings, but the warmth of the people certainly
makes up for it. L52159
ttgbusiness.com a79 november 2008
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