Legal regulation of the provision of hotel services in the Russian Federation. Coursework: Legal regulation of hotel service. Sources of legal regulation of hotel services

Undoubtedly, the hotel markets of Astana and Almaty have a dominant influence on the state of the country's hotel industry as a whole. However, in recent years there have been some shifts here, which are manifested primarily in a reduction in the share of capitals in the overall sectoral balance. The process of deconcentration is taking place against the background of the revival of the hotel markets in other regions. Such rapidly developing areas include, first of all, the resort city of Sochi, whose investment attractiveness is not inferior to capital cities. In a number of regions, the hotel business is developing even more dynamically than other sectors of the real estate market: housing and retail and office. To a large extent, the segment of mini-hotels and hotels of the middle price level is actively developing there. [ 7, p. 43]

3.2 Problems of the hotel industry in Kazakhstan and ways to solve them

All hotels are divided into two segments - hotel chains and non-chain hotels. Labor productivity in hotel chains (consisting of 6 hotels or more) is approximately 50% higher than in non-chain hotels, which is associated with the use of chains standard forms organization of work, with economies of scale in areas such as branding, acquisition of necessary resources and training of staff (due to greater opportunities for promotion).

The low productivity of the staff of non-network Kazakhstani hotels is explained by a drop in demand, low incomes of the population and failure to comply with tax discipline, as well as the fact that a significant part of them is state-owned. In Kazakhstan, 47% of hotel rooms are owned by municipal, regional or federal authorities. Another 36% of the room stock is partly owned by local or federal authorities, and partly by enterprises (mainly heavy industry enterprises). Whereas management contracts are widespread in the US, tying manager remuneration to hotel profitability, in Kazakhstan, contracts (essentially with the state) do not provide sufficient incentives for non-chain hotel managers to get rid of excess staff and improve work organization. In addition, some hotels of this kind are run directly by government officials, and they are usually required to keep rooms for officials in reserve, and, of course, these rooms do not make a profit.

A very serious problem in the development of the hotel industry in Kazakhstan is the lack of qualified personnel, which, in particular, explains the inefficient organization of labor. US hotel chains are coping with seasonal workforce needs by tapping into an existing pool of trained workers. In countries like Kazakhstan, there are no such reserves, and it takes a long time to train an inexperienced worker well. The losses from the use of untrained workers are obvious. So, a skilled maid can clean 60% more rooms per day than an inexperienced trainee. To no lesser extent, the increased need for employees is due to the cumbersome and imperfect accounting procedures and the great need for security services.

Almost all major international chains are present in Kazakhstan, but their activities are concentrated in the four- and five-star segment and are usually managed by international companies and owned by joint ventures involving private investors and local authorities. Here high quality service dictates high prices affordable for large businessmen, business tourists, famous artists, athletes. But there are almost no tourist-class hotels with a good level of service for a person of average income who comes to see our country.

Three-star hotels remain the most demanded segment, the shortage of which is felt in all major cities of Kazakhstan. Formally, there are such hotels, but in reality most of them do not correspond to this category either in terms of the level of staff training or the quality of service, and they received this category according to the old systems.

Today, the problem of interaction between hotels and tour operators is relevant for the development of the Russian hotel industry. Often these partners make claims to each other. Complaints relate mainly to violations of contractual discipline.

Hotels suffer losses due to the fact that tour operators who practice advance reservations for their groups do not always redeem booked rooms. Late cancellation of bookings (i.e. cancellation of previously made bookings as soon as possible, which does not allow rooms to be re-listed for sale) is one of the risk factors in the hotel industry as a whole. As a counter to such unfavorable factors, hotels include various provisions on advance payment and deposits in contracts, i.e. a standard set of measures used by all hotels, regardless of the home country, to reduce losses from disruption of preliminary financial plans.

Tour operators, in turn, also have claims to partners - accommodation facilities. It is not uncommon for hotels to take a wait-and-see attitude and do not confirm booking requests within the time limits specified in the contracts. Especially often hotels do this on the eve of major events, holidays, causing a high demand for accommodation services. Since there are not so many hotels that accept foreign tourist groups, tour operators do not agree to terminate contracts with violating hotels. Some hotels deliberately cut off group tourism, setting prices for tourist groups higher than for corporate clients, or offering accommodation without discounts. It can be quite difficult for tour operators to defend their positions, especially when demand exceeds supply.

Another problem is related to the imperfection of legislation and the complexity of bureaucratic procedures for licensing, certification, etc. And this, in turn, is the source of other problems. Thus, due to the imperfection of the legislative framework, investors with some caution invest in the construction of new hotels in Kazakhstan, especially in Astana. This is mainly due to the fact that there are no convenient places for building in Astana, and due to the high cost of land. The city government has repeatedly declared its readiness to promote the development of the hotel services market, but bureaucratic barriers are still strong. In addition, according to experts, the Moscow authorities are rather unsuccessful in initiating the reconstruction and replacement of the existing hotel stock. Over the past three years, the Moscow market has decreased by 3.5 thousand rooms only in demolished hotels. And this is almost a quarter of the number of rooms in the middle segment. Demolition of hotels meanwhile continues. This reduces competition for existing hotels, which entails the high cost of hotels, a drop in the quality of services.

Another problem related to legislative framework, is a classification of hotels. Currently normative document, on the basis of which the classification of Kazakhstani hotels is carried out, is the order of the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade of the Republic of Kazakhstan dated June 21, 2003 No. 197 “On approval of the Regulations on state system classification of hotels and other accommodation facilities. Despite the fact that the document received the status of a state one, this classification system is voluntary and many hotels received their category according to the old systems, so more than 70% of hotels in Kazakhstan do not fit into any of the current categories in terms of quality of service. Information about all enterprises that have received a category in accordance with the requirements of the state system is published on the official website of the federal executive body in the field of tourism, as well as in catalogs and other publications distributed at exhibitions in Kazakhstan and abroad.

Of course, speaking about the problems of the hotel business, it is necessary to say about the ways to solve them.

The regulation of the hotel industry should take place "from above", i.e. state. To do this, first of all, it is necessary to develop a unified marketing concept for the development of the hotel business in Kazakhstan, which should provide solutions to all problems in a complex. The state must determine the tourism concepts of the regions, the need for additional infrastructure, territorial zoning, a plan to attract investors, and much more. Thus, the hotel market in Astana and Almaty is already quite developed and it is worth reorienting cash flows to regional cities with a population of over one million, important centers of trade and industry. Separately, it is worth considering the prospects of the Golden Ring and resort areas.

Significant work needs to be done in the field of legislation. The registration and registration processes should be simplified and understandable in order to attract foreign investment in the hotel business.

Also, do not forget about the problem of quality of service in hotels. The introduced classification system is an important step towards quality improvement, but it is not enough. Firstly, this system has a lot of complaints from hotel owners and needs to be improved, and secondly, it is optional and many hotels do not correspond to any category. To improve the situation, the state should invest in these hotel enterprises, as well as stimulate them to improve the level of services.

But problem solving requires the active participation of hotel owners. They should strive to provide quality service, effective work with customers, close cooperation with the state. The personnel problem requires special participation of hotel owners. Many of them can be solved by closer work with universities, the policy of compensation and non-material motivation of staff.

Thus, the hotel business in Kazakhstan faces many problems and the solution of these problems must be comprehensive, i.e. the state and hotel owners should work together to plan and implement programs to eliminate them.

Conclusion

In this paper, the features of state regulation of hotel service were considered. The unreasonable position of the legislator in matters of regulating the quality of hotel services was revealed. And the quality of hotel services is an important factor in the development of international and domestic tourism, which, in turn, contributes to the development of the economy of our country, an increase in budget revenues, and the creation of new jobs. The existing system of voluntary confirmation of compliance not only does not improve the overall quality of hotel services in the country, but, on the contrary, creates confusion and prerequisites for abuse by unscrupulous hotel companies. Here I agree with the recommendations that propose to introduce mandatory certification on the territory of Kazakhstan.

Based on the analysis of regulatory legal acts in the field of hotel services, we can conclude that the current domestic regulation of this activity is incomplete. There is no regulation of relations with the participation of legal entities on the side of the customer of the service and individual entrepreneurs acting as a customer and recipient of services.

Basic Principles state regulation hotel activities in the Republic of Kazakhstan are:

1) promoting hotel activities and creating favorable conditions for its development;

2) identification and support of priority areas of hotel activities;

3) formation of an idea about the Republic of Kazakhstan as a country favorable for the hotel business;

4) ensuring security, protecting the rights of tourists and tourist organizations of the Republic of Kazakhstan and their associations, as well as protecting their interests and property.

Regulation of the development of the hotel business is a multi-level system that includes:

Coordination and promotion of the development of the hotel business on a global scale, which is carried out through the World Tourism Organization with the participation of international financial organizations;

Consistency of hotel policy at the interstate level, which is achieved through regional tourism organizations and special bodies of interstate associations (for example, the European Community);

Consistency of policy in the field of hotel business at the national and regional levels, which is carried out through specially created state bodies and public associations of hotel organizations.

The legal framework for state regulation of hotel activities in the Republic of Kazakhstan is enshrined in the following legal acts:

Law of the Republic of Kazakhstan dated June 13, 2001 No. 211-II "On tourism activities in the Republic of Kazakhstan";

State program of tourism development for 2007-2011;

Concepts for the development of the hotel business in the Republic of Kazakhstan;

Laws "On standardization", "On certification of products and services";

Decree of the Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan dated June 11, 2007 N 481 “On approval of the Rules for licensing and qualification requirements for tour operator, travel agency activities, services of a tourism instructor”;

Development Program promising directions hotel industry of the Republic of Kazakhstan for 2010 - 2014;

Decree of the Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan "Rules for the provision of hotel services in the Republic of Kazakhstan";

Short description

The international hotel business occupies an important place in the modern world economy. At least in recent decades, it has been one of the most dynamically developing and very profitable types economic activity. The development of the national hotel industry, especially through its connection to the international hotel business, is of great importance in many countries of the world, since this economy plays an important role in providing employment for the local population, having a positive impact on other sectors of the national economy.

Annotation: The state impact on the hotel and tourist business of the Russian Federation, namely the state regulation of this type of activity, is considered. State structures have been identified, they are engaged in the regulation of this type of activity at the federal level. It was determined that at the municipal level there are no specialized bodies involved in the development of the tourism business. The main documents regulating the hotel business are analyzed. Separate attention is paid to the issues of voluntary certification of the hotel and tourism business.

Keywords: Hospitality, state regulation, voluntary certification, tourism business, standardization, hotels

Summary: The state impact on hotel travel business of the Russian Federation, namely state regulation of this kind of activity is considered. Government institutions are defined, are engaged in regulation of this kind of activity at the federal level. It is defined that at the municipal level there are no specialized bodies, are engaged in development of travel business. The main documents regulating hotel business are analyzed. The attention to questions of voluntary certification of hotel travel business is separately paid.

Keywords: Hotel business, state regulation, voluntary certification, travel business, standardization, hotels

The hotel business is one of the cost-effective and most dynamically developing types of economic activity. Domestic, as well as external tourism, annually brings colossal sums to the state treasury, comparable to the oil business, which is considered one of the most profitable sectors of the economy. Efficient implementation the hotel and tourism business has a direct impact on the welfare of the state, since in addition to solving internal problems, such as providing the population with jobs, it has a positive impact on the image policy of the state and its image in the eyes of citizens of other states. That is why many states focus their attention on improving the quality of hotel services provided.

Tourism potential Russian Federation extremely extensive, in view of the diversity of the landscape, the presence of historical monuments, cultural heritage. However, the implementation of state regulation of the hotel business is at a rather weak level, largely due to the constant reform of regulatory authorities and the repeated amendments to the legislation governing the hotel industry. The poorly developed hotel and recreational infrastructure deserves special mention. All of the above indicates the development of the tourism sector as the most important area in the framework of the state and municipal policy of the Russian Federation.

One of the directions for the implementation of state influence on the hotel and tourism business is the creation of state bodies specializing in the implementation and improvement of state policy within this area. The federal executive body is the Federal Agency for Tourism, which is under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Sports, Tourism and Youth Policy of the Russian Federation. The functions of this body include complex analysis and forecasting the development of the hotel business in the territory of the Russian Federation, determining development priorities in this area, developing and submitting regulatory legal acts for consideration by the Government of the Russian Federation, as well as independent regulation of regulatory legal acts directly related to the hotel industry in the territory of the Russian Federation.

The regulation of the hotel business is also handled by another authority of the Russian Federation - the Federal Agency for Technical Regulation and Metrology, which is under the department of the Ministry of Industry and Energy. His structural subdivision- the technical committee for standardization, performs the functions of developing and improving the system of national standards in the field of hotel business.

On the territory of municipalities there are no specialized bodies involved in the development of the tourism business, instead of them, the regulation of this direction is carried out by the executive authorities municipality. And if at the federal level such tasks as the direct development of state policy in the field of tourism are considered, then more mundane tasks are solved at the local level, such as planning the area for tourism activities, preparing tourism infrastructure, conducting territorial marketing within the boundaries of each municipality.

A distinctive feature of the tourism business is that the final product is a combination of a number of activities, such as transportation, accommodation, food, leisure activities. Since each element requires separate regulation, there is a large number of regulatory legal acts establishing the procedure for the implementation of tourism activities. An example is the customs legislation regulating the procedure for passing goods through customs borders or administrative legislation that establishes the procedure for obtaining visa documents.

The main documents regulating the hotel business in the territory of the Russian Federation are:

1. "On the basics of tourism activities in the Russian Federation" dated 11/24/96. No. 132-FZ (as amended and supplemented, effective from 01.11.2012)

2. Federal Law "On standardization in the Russian Federation" dated June 29, 2015 No. 162-FZ

3. Federal Law "On Technical Regulation" dated December 27, 2002 N 184-FZ. (as amended on 07/13/2015).

4. Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation "On approval of the Rules for the provision of hotel services in the Russian Federation" dated 04/25/1997 N 490 (as amended on 03/13/2013)

State regulation of the hotel business is carried out through the standardization and classification of objects tourism industry which include hotels. Standardization in the Russian Federation is regulated by the Federal Law “On Technical Regulation”, which imposes requirements for the provision of services, which, however, are voluntary and not enforced. Thus, we can conclude that the certification of hotel services does not take place in without fail, but is subject to licensing only on a voluntary basis, according to criteria that can be developed by any organization.

By order of the Federal Agency for Technical Regulation, GOST R 51185-2008 was developed and implemented as a national standard " Tourist services. Accommodation facilities. General requirements» in accordance with which it is possible to single out the main groups of requirements for the hotel, its number of rooms and staff.

Along with the above requirements, the order of the Federal Agency for Tourism dated July 21, 2005 No. 86 “On approval of the classification system for hotels and other accommodation facilities” developed a voluntary certification of hotel services based on the classification according to the number of “stars” system, in which the lowest category is indicated one star, and the highest - five.

It should be noted that the voluntary nature of certification and the lack of an established list of mandatory requirements leads to significant problems in effective state regulation. This problem is at the center of the study of specialists, however, all current developments are not mandatory, but only recommendatory.

Based on the analysis of legal documents, it can be concluded that state regulation and regulation of the hotel industry is incomplete, which makes it difficult for the entire system of the hotel and tourism business to function effectively.

The main problems of the hotel business in Russia are:

Lack of organizational knowledge to effectively develop the hotel business

Lack of clear and complete regulation of the hotel industry

Constant reform of the legislation regulating the hotel and tourism industry

The ongoing formation of a negative image of the territory

The combination of these factors shows that the development of the hotel business in the Russian Federation is rather restrained. However, measures taken at the federal and municipal levels allow us to hope that the impact negative factors will decrease, which will lead to stabilization of the situation, will increase the number of hotels and inns, will contribute to the emergence of large hotel chains, which will ultimately ensure an increase in the number of Russian and foreign tourists who have chosen Russia as their holiday destination.

Bibliography

1. GOST R 51185-2008 “Tourist services. Accommodation facilities. General requirements” (date of entry into force - 01.07.2009)

2. Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation "On approval of the Rules for the provision of hotel services in the Russian Federation" dated April 25, 1997 N 490 (as amended on March 13, 2013)

3. Order of the Federal Agency for Tourism "On approval of the classification system for hotels and other accommodation facilities" dated July 25, 2005 No. 86

The most important instruments of state regulation of the activities of hotel organizations and protection of the rights of consumers of hotel services are licensing, standardization and certification. Article 17 federal law dated August 8, 2001 No. 128-FZ "On licensing certain types activities”, hotel activities are not mentioned here. Therefore, it can be carried out without a license.

According to Part 3, Article 4 of the Law on Tourism Activities, state regulation of the provision of hotel services is carried out by standardizing and classifying objects of the tourism industry, which include, first of all, hotels. The standardization of services in our country is regulated by the Law on Technical Regulation. With regard to services in general and to hotel services in particular, this law defines technical regulation as the legal regulation of relations in the field of establishing and applying, on a voluntary basis, requirements for the provision of services, as well as assessing and confirming the compliance of services with these requirements.

The modern legal regulation of relations for the provision of hotel services is based on the provisions of part 1 of article 8 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation, which proclaims that “in the Russian Federation, the unity of the economic space, the free movement of goods, services and financial resources...”, and also establishes the fundamental rights and freedoms of a person and citizen, important for this area, including the right to move freely, choose a place of stay and residence, and the right to rest.

In the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, services are singled out as an independent object, and Chapter 39 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation "Payable provision of services" is devoted to the regulation of contractual relations for the provision of services. However, in the list of services there is no indication of hotel services (Clause 2, Article 779 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation), but this does not mean that the rules of Chapter 39 do not apply to these relations.

The following source of legal regulation of activities for the provision of hotel services: Federal Law of November 24, 1996 No. 132-FZ "On the basics of tourism activities in the Russian Federation" as amended on 03.05.2012. This Law declares that one of the main goals of state regulation of tourism activities is the development of hotels, and accommodation services are integral part tourism product. It follows that the state regulation of the sphere of tourism activities very significantly affects the provision of hotel services.

An important role in regulating the provision of hotel services is played by the Law of the Russian Federation of February 7, 1992 No. 2300-1, with additions of December 21, 2013, “On Protection of Consumer Rights”, which regulates the relationship that arises between the consumer and the service provider, including including hotels, determines the rights of consumers to purchase services of adequate quality, safe for their life and health, to receive information about services and their performers, state and public protection, as well as a mechanism for exercising these rights.

Law of the RSFSR of July 26, 1991 No. 1488-1 "On investment activity in the RSFSR "Federal Laws of July 9, 1999 No. 160-FZ "On Foreign Investments" and of February 25, 1999 No. 39-FZ "On Investment Activities in the Russian Federation Carried out in the Form of Capital Investments" define the basic guarantees of investors' rights to investments and incomes and profits received from them, conditions entrepreneurial activity on the hotel market Russia.

Federal Law No. 184-FZ of December 27, 2002 "On Technical Regulation" plays a significant role in assessing the quality of services, regulates relations arising from the development, adoption, application, and voluntary fulfillment of requirements for the provision of services.

National standard of the Russian Federation GOST R 51185-2008 “Tourist services. Accommodation facilities. General requirements” defines such concepts as “accommodation facility”, “hotel”, “room”, and also establishes the types of accommodation facilities and rooms in accommodation facilities. The specified GOST also contains a number of general requirements that are advisory in nature.

One of the main sources of legal regulation of relations for the provision of hotel services is the "Rules for the provision of hotel services", hereinafter referred to as the Rules for the provision of hotel services, which were adopted by Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation of April 25, 1997 No. 490 and Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation No. 693 of September 15, 2000 clarifications, in accordance with the Law on the Protection of Consumer Rights. The Rules for the provision of hotel services contain definitions of the concept of "hotel" and establish who can be a party to an agreement on the provision of hotel services and determine the rights, obligations, and responsibilities of the parties under such an agreement. In these Rules, a consumer is a citizen who intends to order or who orders and uses services solely for personal, family, household and other needs not related to entrepreneurship. Relations between consumers and performers are regulated by the Law of the Russian Federation of February 7, 1992 No. 2300-1 “On Protection of Consumer Rights” (hereinafter referred to as the Law on Consumer Rights Protection). It is clear that this document does not apply to legal entities, as well as entrepreneurs who use, purchase, order, or have the intention to purchase or order a service not for personal household needs, but for business.

An example of such relations is the formation of a tourist product by a tour operator with its subsequent implementation. In this case, hotel services are purchased by the tour operator and included in the complex tourist service, which is sold to the tourist. At the same time, the tourist does not directly enter into a contractual relationship with the contractor providing hotel services. Thus, relations for the provision of hotel services to persons who are not consumers within the meaning of the Rules for the provision of hotel services do not fall under their legal regulation.

It should also be noted that not always the consumer and the customer are the same person. And according to the Rules for the provision of hotel services, a consumer is a person who both orders a hotel service and uses it. That is, using a hotel service alone is not enough for a citizen to become a consumer. Accordingly, they are deprived of legal regulation of relations for the provision of hotel services, when services are ordered by a legal entity, but are performed by a citizen.

The rules provide:

the procedure for communicating to consumers information about the contractor, about the services provided, information about the certification of services subject to mandatory certification, information about the procedure for registering hotel accommodation and paying for services, about the procedure for concluding contracts for booking rooms in the hotel and the consequences if the consumer is late, about cases when the contractor is obliged to conclude an agreement with the consumer for the provision of services, about the details of the receipt or other document issued to the consumer when registering for a hotel stay, etc.;

the procedure for the provision of services, a list of types of services provided by the contractor without additional payment, the contractor's responsibility for the safety of the consumer's belongings;

the opportunity for the consumer, upon detection of shortcomings in the service provided, to demand the gratuitous elimination of shortcomings or a corresponding reduction in the price for the service provided, or to terminate the contract for the provision of services and demand full compensation for losses if the contractor has not eliminated these shortcomings within the prescribed period;

the possibility for the consumer to refuse to fulfill the contract for the provision of services, subject to payment to the contractor of the expenses actually incurred by him;

The responsibility of the contractor for harm caused to the life, health and property of the consumer due to shortcomings in the provision of services, as well as compensation for moral damage caused to the consumer by a violation of his rights in accordance with the legislation of the Russian Federation;

compensation by the consumer for damages in the event of loss or damage to the property of the hotel, as well as the responsibility of the consumer for other violations in accordance with the legislation of the Russian Federation;

other rights and obligations of the contractor and the consumer.

Licensing of hotel activities at the federal level is not carried out. However, licensing of hotel activities by local governments is envisaged. So, in St. Petersburg, licensing of hotel activities is carried out in accordance with the temporary regulation on licensing of hotel activities in St. Petersburg. According to it, hotel activities carried out by collective accommodation facilities are subject to licensing: hotels, motels, hotel and office centers and other organizations, at least ten rooms.

The purpose of licensing hotel activities is: protecting the interests of consumer rights; ensuring a unified approach to assessing the level and standards of service delivery; strengthening the rule of law and ensuring the safety of living in hotels.

You should also pay attention to the fact that all hotels are divided into categories according to the level of comfort provided to customers. The division of hotels into categories implies a different set of services provided. Hotels of higher categories provide guests with more comfortable rooms and a correspondingly larger range of services, among which there may be services for which a license is required, for example, medical or transport services.

If the hotel provides its customers with services for which a license is required, then it is obliged to obtain it for such activities. Moreover, in accordance with the law on licensing, the validity period of such a license cannot be less than five years. This follows from Article 8 of Federal Law No. 128-FZ: "The term of a license cannot be less than five years. The term of a license after its expiration may be extended at the request of the licensee."

In addition to licensing and mandatory certification, a hotel can apply for a certain category either immediately during the organization period, or after a certain technical and managerial modernization. This procedure will be called certification, and carry the meaning of voluntary certification.

In our country, organizations accredited by the state are engaged in certification of hotels. However, in world practice there are other schemes for assigning categories. For example, in Germany and Switzerland, this is done by professional associations and unions independent of the state. In Germany - the Association of Hotel and Restaurant Industry (DEHOGA), in Switzerland - the Union of Hotel Owners. There are countries where several classification systems exist in parallel.

Hotel certification aims to determine the place of a particular hotel in the hotel services market, to make it easier for clients and professionals to obtain information about the possibility of providing a guaranteed set of services that can be provided by a hotel of a certain class.

Certification of hotels can be carried out both at the national and international levels. In our country, voluntary certification of hotel services and the development of compliance standards are carried out by government bodies. Currently, a certain category of hotels is assigned on the basis of compliance with the "Classification System for Hotels and Other Accommodation Facilities".

In this certification system, as in GOST, there is a significant drawback: their application is voluntary. Therefore, no one can force hotel companies to provide services in accordance with the requirements of GOST or to obtain a category certificate within the framework of the Hotel Classification System and other means. It is clear that companies offering poor quality services will either not be certified at all, or will do it under another system created under the Law on Technical Regulation, and absolutely legally be able to get even the most high category within its own compliance system. It is difficult to compare the quality of services qualified by different systems, and the customer may receive a service much lower than the one he intended to receive. It is important to note that an attempt was made to solve this problem by the state. In particular, the classification system for hotels and other accommodation facilities was approved by the Government of the Russian Federation in order No. 1004-R dated July 15, 2005, no changes and additions were made to this order. This indicates that the state federal body executive authority in the field of tourism acts as a guarantor that the hotel really meets all the requirements for the category that have been assigned to this hotel.

However, this did not solve one of the problems: certification did not become mandatory, which means that the customer is not provided with reliable information about the category of the hotel and the quality of hotel services.

Thus, the legislative regulation of hotel activities in the territory of the Russian Federation is not sufficiently developed and additions are required for a more complete and accurate regulation of this market segment.

At the request of readers, Frontdesk.ru provides a list of the most requested documents and regulations governing hotel activities in the Russian Federation. The article presents the main legislative acts, protocols and regulations relating to the provision of hotel services. To open a hotel, not counting permits for the construction of a building, it is enough to register as an Individual Entrepreneur or open entity. Federal Law No. 128-FZ of August 8, 2001 “On Licensing Certain Types of Activities”, as amended on December 6, 2007, defines the types of activities that fall under licensing. The hotel business is not mentioned in this law, therefore, it does not require licenses as such. However, if the hotel provides services in addition to hospitality activities that require a license, then such licenses must be obtained. For the full operation of the hotel, when creating a legal entity, the activity codes specified in the OKVD document for the hotel business are indicated

YES. ZHMULINA,
Competitor of the Department of Commercial Law, Faculty of Law, St. Petersburg State University

In an article based on a detailed analysis current legislation the system of state regulation of activities for the provision of hotel services in the Russian Federation is studied, and proposals are made to improve the regulation of this area.
In the field of providing hotel services, many people are involved who serve great amount consumers. This is not an entrepreneurship designed for a narrow circle, but an industry that offers modern society with its diverse requests conditions for relaxation.
State regulation of activities for the provision of hotel services is carried out through the legal regulation of this area, as well as through the standardization and classification of hotels and other accommodation facilities, creating favorable conditions for investment in the hotel industry.
Legal regulation services, in particular hotel services, begins with the Constitution of the Russian Federation, which states that the Russian Federation guarantees the unity of the economic space, the free movement of goods, services and financial resources (part 1 of article 8), and also enshrined the fundamental rights and freedoms of man and citizen important for this area, including the right to move freely, choose a place of stay and residence (part 1 of article 27), the right to rest (part 5 of article 37).
In the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, services are singled out as an independent object of rights (Articles 1, 2, 128, etc.). Chapter 39 “Paid services” of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation is devoted to the regulation of contractual relations for the provision of services, the significance of which lies in the fact that it lays the foundation for civil legal relations not yet named in this code. Among them are relations for the provision of hotel services. In paragraph 2 of Art. 779 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, containing a list of services, hotel services are not specified. However, this does not mean that the rules of Chapter 39 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation do not apply to such relations, since the list of services provided is not exhaustive.
The next source of legal regulation of activities for the provision of hotel services is the Federal Law of November 24, 1996 No. 132-FZ “On the Basics of Tourism Activities in the Russian Federation” (hereinafter referred to as the Law on Tourism Activities). This law applies to hotel activities only indirectly. From the conceptual apparatus of the Law on Tourism Activities, it becomes clear that hotel activities cannot be classified as tourism or other travel activities.
At the same time, the Law on Tourism Activities classifies hotels as objects of the tourism industry, and in Art. 4 declares the development of the tourism industry, which provides for the needs of citizens when traveling, that is, in fact, the development of hotels, as one of the main goals of state regulation of tourism activities.
The Law on Tourism Activities also determines that accommodation services are an integral part of the tourism product, and the activities for the formation, promotion and implementation of the tourism product are tourism activities. Thus, we can say that the state regulation of the sphere of tourism activities very significantly affects the provision of hotel services.
An important role in regulating the provision of hotel services is played by the Law of the Russian Federation of February 7, 1992 No. 2300-1 “On Protection of Consumer Rights” (hereinafter referred to as the Law on Consumer Rights Protection), which regulates the relationship that arises between the consumer and the service provider, including and hotel, establishes the rights of consumers (to purchase services of adequate quality, safe for their life, health and property; to receive information about services and their performers; to state and public protection of consumer interests), and also determines the mechanism for exercising their rights.
Law of the RSFSR of June 26, 1991 No. 1488-1 “On investment activities in the RSFSR”, federal laws of July 9, 1999 No. 160-FZ “On foreign investments” and Federal laws of February 25, 1999 No. 39-FZ “On investment activities in the Russian Federation, carried out in the form of capital investments” determine the basic guarantees of the rights of investors to investments and the income and profit received from them, the conditions for entrepreneurial activity of investors in the hotel market of Russia.
Federal Law No. 184-FZ dated December 27, 2002 “On Technical Regulation” (hereinafter referred to as the Law on Technical Regulation) is extremely important for regulating the quality of services, since it regulates the relations arising from the development, adoption, application and fulfillment on a voluntary basis of requirements for the provision of services .
Among the sources of legal regulation of relations for the provision of hotel services, the key ones are the Rules for the provision of hotel services in the Russian Federation, approved by Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation of April 25, 1997 No. 490 (hereinafter referred to as the Rules for the provision of hotel services).
These rules are adopted in accordance with the Consumer Rights Protection Law and contain rules governing the procedure for providing information about hotel services, the procedure for registering hotel accommodation and paying for services, the procedure for providing services, and the responsibility of the contractor and consumer.
The rules for the provision of hotel services contain definitions key concepts for the provision of hotel services. Thus, a hotel is defined as Property Complex(building, part of a building, equipment and other property) intended for the provision of services. However, this definition seems to be not quite correct and does not correspond to the realities. modern relations in this area.
The consumer of services, according to the Rules for the provision of hotel services, is a citizen who intends to order or order and use services exclusively for personal, family, household and other needs not related to business activities.
Thus, if you follow the Rules for the provision of hotel services, citizens who carry out any activity aimed at generating profit during their stay at the hotel, including citizens who perform their duties under a civil law contract (for example, lecturers , lawyers, solicitors). It is ambiguous when the Rules for the Provision of Hotel Services classify as consumers citizens sent on a business trip by order of the employer in accordance with labor law and performing during their stay at the hotel their labor obligations. In such a situation, an employer, a legal entity or an individual entrepreneur orders hotel services, who sends his employee on a business trip, including for the purpose of making a profit, and the employee consumes the services, which is a “tool” for making a profit.
Consequently, the Rules for the provision of hotel services, which regulate the key points in relations for the provision of hotel services, are designed only for a narrow area of ​​relations, which include relations with the participation of consumer citizens on the side of the recipient of the service.
State standard of the Russian Federation GOST R 51185-98 " Tourist services. Accommodation facilities. General requirements”, approved by the Decree of the State Standard of Russia dated July 9, 1998 No. 286, contains a number of rules governing the provision of hotel services. However, according to Art. 46 of the Law on Technical Regulation, the aforementioned GOST is subject to mandatory execution only in the part that ensures the achievement of the goals of the Russian legislation on technical regulation.
GOST R 51185-98 defines such concepts as “accommodation facilities”, “accommodation facilities services”, “accommodation facility services provider”, classifies accommodation facilities, limiting them to a simple enumeration.
Summing up the analysis of regulatory legal acts in the field of hotel services, we can conclude that the current domestic regulation of this activity is incomplete. Legal regulation public relations in this area is carried out mainly at the sub-legislative level.
The qualitative level of legal regulation of activities for the provision of hotel services is obviously low and insufficient for successful development hotel industry in our country. In order to increase the effectiveness of the legal regulation of relations for the provision of hotel services, it is necessary, from our point of view, to finalize the Rules for the provision of hotel services, it is necessary to establish special rules dedicated to the regulation of business relations in the area under consideration. Article 17 of Federal Law No. 128-FZ of August 8, 2001 “On Licensing Certain Types of Activities” contains an exhaustive list of types of activities subject to mandatory licensing. Activities for the provision of hotel services are not included in this list; accordingly, licensing in this area is not carried out.
According to part 3 of Art. 4 of the Law on Tourism Activities, state regulation of the tourism industry, which, as we noted earlier, primarily includes hotels, is carried out by standardizing and classifying objects of the tourism industry. From our point of view, this direction state regulation is extremely important and necessary, as it implements the right of consumers to information about the provider of accommodation services and about the services themselves in accordance with Art. 8 of the Consumer Protection Act.
Article 5 of the Law on Tourism Activity establishes the rule that the standardization and classification of objects of the tourism industry is carried out in accordance with the legislation of the Russian Federation.
The standardization of services in our country is regulated by the Law on Technical Regulation. With regard to services in general and to hotel services in particular, this law defines technical regulation as the legal regulation of relations in the field of establishing and applying, on a voluntary basis, requirements for the provision of services, as well as assessing and confirming the compliance of services with these requirements. The Law on Technical Regulation establishes that such requirements may exist in the form of standards or contracts. This law does not provide for any other forms of documents establishing the composition and content of voluntarily accepted requirements for services. The Law on Technical Regulation also does not allow the application of procedures for mandatory confirmation of compliance of services with certain requirements and forcing voluntary confirmation of compliance, including in a certain system of voluntary certification.
The voluntary certification system can be created by any legal entity or individual entrepreneur or several legal entities and (or) individual entrepreneurs. A voluntary certification system may be registered with the Federal Agency for Technical Regulation and Metrology, but may not be registered.
It can be concluded that in Russia hotel services are not subject to mandatory certification, only voluntary confirmation of compliance with any criteria is necessary, and it is not necessary to register these criteria, they can be developed and applied by any organization. This means that the establishment and application of standards in this area, if we follow the Law on Technical Regulation, is completely removed from the jurisdiction of state bodies.
However, the state is actively involved in the development of criteria for assessing the quality of hotel services.
Thus, the Ministry of Economic Development of Russia, by order of June 21, 2003 No. 197, approved the Regulations on the state system for classifying hotels and other accommodation facilities. This hotel classification system lasted two years and was canceled in connection with the order of the Federal Tourism Agency dated July 21, 2005 No. 86 “On approval of the Classification System for hotels and other accommodation facilities (hereinafter - Order No. 86). This System classification of hotels and other accommodation facilities (hereinafter referred to as the Classification System) is currently used. Let's take a closer look at this document.
First of all, in our opinion, the very concept of "classification system" in the context of the document and in the light of the concepts and definitions of the Law on Technical Regulation, as well as from the standpoint of the vocabulary of the Russian language, is incorrect. The concept of "classification" in its encyclopedic meaning is a way or process of dividing a set of objects into classes, in this case - into categories, denoted by the number of stars. Classification in the system under consideration is understood as the process of assigning a particular hotel to a classification group - category. This process consists of two consecutive steps: assessment of the hotel's compliance with the classification requirements; documentary confirmation of the established conformity of the category. Then the hotel is issued a certificate of category and mark of conformity. However, according to Art. 2 of the Law on Technical Regulation confirmation of conformity - documentary evidence of the compliance of the provision of services with the provisions of the standards; certificate of conformity - a document certifying the compliance of the object with the provisions of the standards; certification - a form of confirmation of compliance of objects with the provisions of the standards. That is, what is called "classification" in Order No. 86, according to the Law on Technical Regulation - "certification".
In this regard, it seems necessary to make appropriate changes to Order No. 86 and replace the concept of "classification" with the term "certification", which, in fact, is.
The classification system contains requirements for hotels and other accommodation facilities, criteria for their scoring and requirements for rooms of various categories and criteria for their scoring, in accordance with which hotels and other accommodation facilities are evaluated for compliance with a particular category.
The problem of developing uniform requirements for assessing accommodation facilities is constantly in the focus of attention of specialists around the world. Since tourism has become massive and the complex problem of certification of hotel services has become quite acute, different organizations repeatedly made attempts to adopt a single world standard for the services provided by hotels. However, to date, these attempts have not been successful due to many reasons, primarily the national and historical features of the tourism industry. different countries. In 1989, the Secretariat of the World Tourism Organization (WTO) issued Recommendations for the Interregional Harmonization of Hospitality Classification Criteria. It is this document that can be considered today as an international standard for hotel services. It should be noted that it is purely advisory in nature.
In our opinion, the requirements for hotels and other accommodation facilities mentioned above and the criteria for their scoring, as well as the requirements for rooms of various categories and the criteria for their scoring of the Classification System comply with the WTO recommendations. Similar to the WTO document, the Classification System contains requirements for the hotel building and its surrounding area, water and energy supply, heating, security issues, rooms, technical and sanitary equipment, additional hotel premises, services provided, maintenance personnel, etc. Each requirements are divided into two groups. The first applies to hotels of all categories. Fulfillment of these requirements - necessary condition to ensure the safety of the guest. The second group includes requirements for specific categories of hotels.
It seems that a significant shortcoming of the Classification System is the lack of connection between the requirements for hotels and other accommodation facilities and the criteria for their scoring and the requirements for rooms of various categories and the criteria for their scoring. The result of room categorization does not affect the category assigned to the hotel. We propose to link the two groups of requirements with a certain algorithm that assumes the availability of rooms of a certain category in a hotel of a certain category.
The organizational structure of the Classification System consists of five levels. Firstly, it is the governing body of the system - the federal executive body in the field of tourism. In terms of the Law on Technical Regulation, this is a legal entity that has formed a voluntary certification system. The governing body of the system approves the decisions of the attestation commission and creates an appeals commission. Secondly, there is a central body of the system (CSO), which creates an attestation commission and approves the documents of the system, accepts applications for peer review, conducts single register system, and also performs coordinating functions, develops methodological documents, collects and analyzes information, etc. The decision to assign or refuse to assign the requested category to the accommodation facility is made by certifying commission. Directly expert assessment accommodation facilities are produced by classification bodies, which are created on the basis of an organization determined by the CSO. There is also a commission that hears appeals on issues related to the classification. The law on technical regulation, in addition to the person who formed the voluntary certification system, provides for only one body - a voluntary certification body.
Despite the obvious external differences with the organizational structure established in the Law on Technical Regulation, the radical illegality in organizational structure There is no classification system. However, the number of decision-making levels and the excessive bureaucracy of the process seem unreasonable and inappropriate for the task being solved. In our opinion, this complicates and overestimates the cost of assessing and confirming compliance with the category.
In general, the Classification System, although it needs a number of improvements, including conceptual ones, is a coherent and integral system for the certification of hotels and other accommodation facilities. And it could well become the basis and guarantor of the stability and constancy of the quality of hotel services in the Russian Federation.
However, the Classification System, it seems to us, has one significant drawback. It is voluntary, and no one can force hotels to receive a category certificate. It is also clear that hotels offering low quality services will either not be certified at all or will do so under another system established under the Law on Technical Regulation. And absolutely legally they will receive even the highest category within their own compliance system.
It is quite difficult to compare the quality of services provided in hotels classified according to different systems. Indeed, with any classification, some limited sample is made from a huge variety of parameters that can be evaluated. And the affected party in this situation is the consumer who, when ordering a hotel from another region, focuses on the category indicated in the brochure or on the hotel website, but does not know on what basis this category was assigned. He has his own ideas, for example, about the category "three stars", but he receives services at the level, in his opinion, "one star". However, at the same time, the consumer cannot make any claims against the contractor, because the latter has a certificate of conformity for a three-star hotel within the framework of some kind of voluntary certification system.
It is important to note that an attempt was made to solve this problem by the state. The classification system was approved by the Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation dated July 15, 2005 No. 1004-r. The approval indicates that the state, represented by the federal executive authority in the field of tourism, acts as a guarantor that the hotel or other accommodation facility actually meets all the requirements for the category assigned to it. However, in our opinion, this does not solve the problem. Even the classification system approved by the Government of the Russian Federation does not become mandatory and remains only one of a number of possible certification systems. The consumer is not provided with reliable information about the category of the hotel.
In the light of the foregoing, it seems necessary to introduce mandatory certification of hotels and other accommodation facilities on the territory of the Russian Federation. To this end, it is proposed in the Law on Technical Regulation to classify the provision of hotel services not as services, but as processes, and to adopt an appropriate law on the technical regulation of hotel activities, which can be based on a revised and supplemented Classification System.

Bibliography
1 See: international tourism: legal acts. - M., 2002. S. 307-323.