The authorities will take control of St. Petersburg mini-hotels

St. Petersburg authorities intend to turn their attention to mini-hotels. According to the Association of Small Hotels of St. Petersburg, currently there are about a thousand mini-hotels in the city, and their activities are not regulated or monitored.

However, now officials want to create a register of urban small hotels, Interfax reports. The Association welcomes this decision, because in the practical absence of a legal framework. mini-hotels of St. Petersburg They do not receive the support of the city authorities. As explained by the head of the Association Vladimir Vasiliev, the issue of the need to create a register was discussed a few years ago, but the case has not moved - the adoption of the law "On small accommodation" has always been postponed indefinitely. So far, the work of these institutions is controlled only by Rospotrebnadzor, which conducts inspections on specific applications of guests.

Meanwhile, the service in mini-hotels gives rise to numerous complaints of guests, writes Fontanka.ru. Tourists face difficulties when booking rooms, especially in high season. In particular, there are frequent cases of "double booking", and tourists are asked to cancel the reservation a week before the trip. Sometimes guests arriving at the hotel are offered a room in another hotel chain in another area of the city. They may also be unexpectedly relocated to another room and threatened with eviction if they protest.

If the guests arrived at the hotel before the time of check-in, then they are sent to “walk”, and the luggage is stored for money. They also charge for simple services, such as using an iron. Poor sound insulation, untidy rooms, cramped rooms and bathrooms, old plumbing and Soviet-era furniture, leaky carpets, poor heating, the presence of mosquitoes in the room - these claims concern both cheap rooms and suites.

Mini-hotels are often located in former communal apartments and do not have signs and signs. Tourists have to roam with luggage through the tangled St. Petersburg courtyards to find their hotel. Many buildings in which mini-hotels are located are too dilapidated, and from the windows of the rooms there are views of the garbage cans or the courtyard-well. In addition, photos of hotel rooms and rooms featured on the sites often mislead tourists.

Also, tourists complain about the language barrier: often the hotel staff does not speak English and very poorly - in Russian. In addition, administrators and maids are unfriendly, and breakfast can be poisoned.

In order not to spoil the impression of rest in St. Petersburg, tourists need to determine the quality of the selected hotel in advance. To do this, it is worth considering the hotel’s membership in respected public organizations, presence in electronic booking systems, the quality of the hotel’s own website, as well as Internet reviews and photos, including photos taken by guests.

Source: Travel.ru