The Russian MICE services industry: Astrus Moscow City Hotel's view

What is your assessment of the Russian conference services market today? 

Despite the recent crisis, the hotel business industry is still considered to be one of the fastest growing sectors of the Russian economy. Nowadays, more companies, both local and international, understand the importance and necessity of developing trade and business relations via various business events. As a rule, the venues for these events are often in hotels rather than in business centers, as the former can provide the event participants with a full range of additional services, from airport transfers to accommodations. Today, the Russian MICE market is growing rapidly, both in quantity and in quality, as companies have again begun to hold two- or even three-day corporate events. 

Which key unique features differentiate the Russian MICE market, from, say, for example, similar markets in other European countries? 

Compared with most other European markets, which are much older with developed traditions, and therefore, usually seen as a kind of a role model for other developing countries, the Russian MICE market is developing quite vigorously. However, reliable data on the actual market size are hard to come by, as this industry overlaps with other industries, thus making it difficult to accurately calculate the exact size of the industry. Nevertheless, it is possible to gather some data about the evaluation of the industry by analyzing the data on the sizes of the other sectors that inter-related with this market. 

What should potential clients pay special attention to when choosing conference halls for business events? 

It is a well-known fact that not all the conference halls in Russian MICE facilities meet the international quality standards. Therefore, when choosing a venue, clients should personally inspect the site, where the event will be hosted, rather than based his/her decision on photographs of the site. The next most vital things are the conditions and functionality of the venue, including the availability of conditioning and other additional services that may be needed such as Wi-Fi Internet access, provision of mineral water, coffee breaks and other amenities for event participants. 

“In addition to hosting conferences, our hotel offers a full range of complementary services, such as the provision of meals, accommodation, spa, gym, fitness center, business center, etc.”

What are your hotel’s key competitive advantages over the other players on this market?

The advantages of intra-city hotels, compared with business centers and suburban resorts include the existence of several venues for holding conferences in one location, which help enable the organizers to effectively and comfortably seat all the participants and the ability to accommodate them in one place. Others include provision of food, entertainment programs such as bowling, billiards, gym, etc for participants in the hotel premises, as well as organization of excursions to objects of tourist interests located at ‘a walking distance’ from a hotel. 

What types of additional services does your hotel usually offer to clients? 

In addition to hosting conferences, our hotel offers a full range of complementary services, such as the provision of meals, accommodation, spa, gym, fitness center, business center, etc. Notably, our hotel has developed a unique, high quality and affordable business services package specifically for out-of-city clients on business trips. This package, in addition to hotel’s traditional accommodation and breakfast services, also includes laundry services, two-hour fitness per day, free high-speed Wi-Fi Internet access and business center services. 

What are your forecasts on the future of this industry in Russia? 

Undoubtedly, the crisis had a negative impact on the Russian MICE services market, but today, with companies recovering from the crisis, we are experiencing increasing growth in different market activities, and hence a generally improved situation on this market, compared to the crisis era. In the future, Russia will face a steady annual increase in the volume of MICE services, as international companies, seeing Russia as one of their best and reliable partners, will start to actively integrate their businesses into the local economy. However, at the same time, one should not forget that this industry is highly dependent on the situation in the global economy, oil prices volatility, stability of the local investment and political climate.