Vestnik 7 2020. indd

Keywords
: 
Crisis, COVID19, government support, unemployment, tourism, hospitality.
The world does not stand still and everything good 
is replaced, something bad always comes. This his-
torical process is no exception, especially the history 
of any state. And now, this is more important than ever.
Since the formation of an industrial society, and 
subsequently the formation of an economy, each 
country has begun to experience such a phenomenon 
as economic crisis.AIt is always accompanied by large 
infl ation, a decline in production, unemployment 
and others, which undoubtedly leads to fear on 
people and forces them to survive in extreme condi-
tions.
In the modern history of RussiaA — capitalist 
RussiaA— there is not a very pleasant pattern.
In 1998, there was a default that seemed to be 
the country’s economic well-being after the long and 
painful 1990s. But we managed to avoid a total col-
lapse.
After 10Ayears of trying to fi x everything, forget the 
horror of the past decade and achieve economic growth, 
the crisis of 2008–2009Acame, which, in turn, signifi -
cantly hit Russian business and scared off investors.
And today we are witnessing a new crisis caused 
by the disrupted OPEC + deal and the COVID-19 
coronavirus pandemic.
At such a diffi
cult moment, it is simply necessary 
to come to the aid and provide all possible support, 
in this case, such support was self-isolation. The state 
asked, in some cases, to forcibly stay at home in order 
to avoid the rapid spread of infection.
The question immediately arises: What happened 
to enterprises that the state forcibly closed? Shopping 
centers are closed, stores, with the exception of gro-
ceries, do not work, catering chains are closed, fac-
tories are worthless, and many companies in the ser-
vice sector have switched to either remote work or 
suspended their activities during quarantine.
In this case, economic growth is not something 
that slows down, but simply ceases as such and goes 
in a negative way. People are left without work, many 
of them are reduced, someone is left without wages 
for a period of self-isolation, in any case, this further 
worsens the crisis situation.
At the same time, it is worth taking into account 
the specifi cs of pricing in our countryA— almost any 
sphere depends on the exchange rate. Directly or 
indirectly, but it is.AIt is a well-known fact that our 
country is considered an “oil and gas” power, whose 
economy is built mainly on oil exports.
It is easy to guess the consequences of a sharp, 
strong drop in oil prices. Therefore, in such a diffi
cult 
time for both our country and the entire world com-
munity, it was simply necessary to mobilize all kinds 
of means to support the economy and citizens.
If strong large corporations are still experiencing 
this crisis, then for small and medium-sized busi-
nesses, the share of participation in the economy of 
which in many countries reaches 40–50%, has to be 
experienced.A It is about measures to support small 
and medium-sized businesses in Russia that this ar-
ticle will talk about, because, indeed, this is more 
relevant than ever.
Let’s start over. Since we are talking about eco-
nomics, we cannot keep silent about statistical data, 
because they are the main tool in arguing the relevance 
of the problem.
Since the fi rst stock index, the Dow JonesAIndex, 
it is customary to judge by the economic situation in 
the country by major stock indices, which include the 
country’s largest enterprises.
Currently, the hospitality industry is going 
through a diffi
cult period. The crisis caused by the 
pandemic of coronavirus infection COVID-19A can 
contribute to a reduction in tourist arrivals worldwide 
by 30–40% in 2020Ayear compared to 2019Ayear. The 
World Tourism Organization reports that the likely 
consequence of this will be a drop in revenue in the 
tourism industry by $300–450Abillion, which is a third 
of 2019Arevenue ($1.5Atrillion). Thus, experts of the 
organization say, 5–7A years of confi dent economic 
growth in the travel industry will be lost [1].
The HoReCa market was one of the fi rst to take 
on the blow of the pandemic. An extremely diffi
cult 
situation has developed in the hotel sector. The load-
ing of hotels in most constituent entities of the Russian 
Federation in March-April 2020Adecreased to critical 
3–10%. The European Tourism Commission (ETC) 
notes that a new surge in COVID-19Acases and the 
re-introduction of travel restrictions have stopped the 
restoration of European tourism: the number of in-
ternational tourists arriving in Europe decreased by 
68% in the middle of the year compared to 2019A[2].

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Выпуск 7, 2021
Маурер Т., Зелезинский А.Л.
The hospitality market of St. Petersburg is also ex-
periencing serious problems. Against the background of 
the boom of past years, the workload of St. Petersburg 
hotels also demonstrates the damage caused by the pan-
demic.AIn April 2020, the average load of existing hotels 
in the city was at 8%. For comparison, last year, accord-
ing to ColliersAInternational, the average occupancy rate 
in the city was 69%, thanks to which 2019Awas considered 
one of the most successful in history. Similar statistics 
are provided in Jones Lang LaSalleAIncorporate (JLL). 
Analysts of this company estimate the load on the brand-
ed off er of the Northern capital last year at 68%.AIPG 
Estate records hotel occupancy in 2019Awith a histori-
cally maximum 70% [3]. According to the latest data, 
the losses of hotels in St. Petersburg may amount to 
about 800Amillion rubles every month and hotel revenue 
will decrease by 30% per year.
Overall, the spread of the infection has led to a 
decline in total tourist traffi
c, a 30Aper cent decrease 
in inbound tourism and a 90A per cent decrease in 
inbound tourism from China. This situation led to 
the closure of hotels or a decrease in part of the avail-
able number pool, a decrease in prices to 50% due to 
a load not exceeding 20% [4]. Reservation cancella-
tions by region, including the Northwest Federal 
District, indicate market instability and uncertainty 
of guests in their plans (Figure).
In these circumstances, it is important to bear in 
mind that competitiveness will not be lost to those 
enterprises of the hospitality industry that, through 
the optimization of activities, will be able to cope with 
the crisis, implement eff ective risk management, 
without losing the level of quality of services pro-
vided and preserve customers.
Customers even before the crisis caused by the pan-
demic were focused on personalized off ers, on a service 
of a decent level with an individual attitude.AIn a crisis 
situation, the client is even more sensitive and demand-
ing. This is due to a number of circumstances. On the 
one hand, it has signifi cantly less money for spontaneous 
spending, reduces the consumer basket or changes the 
vector of consumer activity under the infl uence of de-
formation of the motivational fi eld, often trying to main-
tain the usual lifestyle. On the other hand, the client is 
in a constant fi eld of negative information, which pro-
vokes the occurrence of stressful reactions. Accordingly, 
trends in consumer preferences are changing, and in 
order to eff ectively manage the hospitality industry en-
terprise in the current environment, it is necessary to 
understand well what customers really need today.
In times of crisis, focus on confi dence-building 
tools, software-based client communications (SRM) 
channels, and loyalty programs to attract guests. Of