Ibis Hotels Will Be Built In Russian Cities

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   European Bank of Reconstruction and Development plan to Invest 24, 000 000 Euro in the company which will build economy class hotels Ibis in Russia. According to AK & M, the first Ibis hotel is to appear in Kaliningrad, Kazan and Nijnii Novgorod. The managing company is Accor Group, while TempStroiSystem will realize the project.
    Estimating the situation in the market and the perspectives of the project, Gennady Lamshin, Executive Director of Russian Hotel Association, pointed out that investing into 3-4* hotel segment is inevitable in the current situation when the segment of 5* hotels is overcrowded. According to him, investments into economy class hotels do not differ much from the ones into 5* hotels while the pay back period is longer. But now ‘the market itself dictate the terms’, said Lamshin.
    Experts interviewed by a BANKO correspondent emphasized a shortage of economy class accommodation in Russia. ‘This problem is evident in Moscow and St. Petersburg. There are expensive hotels – heritage from Soviet times, but there is no accommodation for groups of tourists’, commented Mikhail Romanov, Director of Orpheus.
    Furthermore, Evgeny Lipets, General Director Deputy of Academservice, agreed, however, doubting that Accor Group and Russian tourists from the regions have the same vision on economy class hotels.
    Experts believe that such rates as 800 – 3000 rubles per night in a double room would be appropriate for economy class hotels. Moreover, experts point out that at the moment prices are too high to set pricing standards for economy class hotels.
    Meanwhile, the project of European Bank of Reconstruction and Development and Accor Group is far from realization. The Board of Directors of the EBRD will consider the issue of its financing program only on June 26th.