Companies looking to build team spirit are increasingly organizing parties and weekend getaways outside the city

When company bosses decide it’s party time for the staff, there are plenty of places in Moscow to get the festivities going. But if they want to take their employees outside of the concrete and smog of the city, there are few sites to choose from, especially if they want to stay the night.

Russian country hotels remain decades behind their Western counterparts and account for just 29 percent of all Russian hotels, according to the Hotel Consulting and Development Group. But there are a few that stand out in Moscow Oblast. Le Meridien Moscow Country Club, Holiday Inn Vinogradovo, Istra Holiday and a few others are among the sector leaders.

John Wood, Le Meridien’s general manager, said corporate meetings and team-building events are held throughout the year. "We organize concerts with big stars, fireworks, decorations, theme evenings, fancy dress events, wellness programs at the Guerlain Beauty Studio, team-building programs, beach volleyball, mini football, basketball, golf, mini golf, paint ball, etc.," Wood said. "There is even ice hockey, cross-country skiing, dog-sled racing, snowmobiling, a disco, skating and more in the winter."

These kinds of events are not cheap. At Le Meridien, costs come to about $60 a person for corporate parties. The hotel also offers a Daily Delegate rate of $52 per person that includes transport to and from the city center, a meeting room, two coffee breaks with biscuits and pastries, a Chef’s Choice business lunch and a relaxation program in the sports club.

The Holiday Inn Vinogradovo doesn’t offer any special rates for corporate parties, but it does have a wide range of activities available for those who check in. Chief Spokeswoman Olga Nikiforova said the average rate is $175 for a single room and that there are group discounts.

Istra Holiday was built by Rosevrobank mostly for its employees. If you don’t work for the bank and decide to hold a corporate party there, it will cost you a fortune. The average rate for a cottage is $400 a night.

But there are few hotels offering these kinds of services. Pensions and holiday homes are more common outside Moscow. According to Marina Smirnova, marketing director for the Hotel Consulting and Development Group, 10 percent offer high-quality service with prices similar to those of good hotels, and another 25 percent are middle-range in price and quality but account for up to 90 percent of demand. The rest often have undergone no renovation since Soviet times.

"Currently, the only quality-certification system for pensions and countryside holiday homes is the one developed by the Odintsovo Chamber of Commerce and Industry," Smirnova said.

Yury Sitnikov, a representative of the Chamber working on the system, said that few pensions and holiday homes are willing to go through the process. This reluctance comes from the costs involved and the fact that many are afraid of a low rating.

There are no general statistics kept, however, and the result is that most Moscow Oblast establishments and potential guests have no idea what their rating really is.

The peak seasons

The domestic tourism market has two peak seasons: The Christmas-New Year season and the May holidays and July-August. Otherwise, weekend getaways and short stays coinciding with public holidays are most popular.

Smirnova said corporate events usually take place before or after peak seasons. "Most pensions have the facilities for organizing conferences and use this as a way of extending the seasons," she said.

Nikiforova agreed. "Most corporate events take place in early spring or early autumn," she said. "We organize seminars and congresses followed by parties. The hotel is 4 kilometers outside the Moscow Ring Road in a picturesque area, and seminars can last several days.

Tatyana Morguzova, marketing and IT manager for the four-star Golubaya Rechka pension, said it holds corporate events four to five times a month. "We have regular guests, both private individuals and big companies."

Golubaya Rechka charges around 700 rubles per person per day, added to the cost of the room – 1,750-3,500 rubles a day. They also have two swimming pools, a Jacuzzi, a solarium, saunas, a Turkish bath and sports sites.

Most businesses appear ready to spend when it comes to company parties. Oksana Rustamova, chief spokeswoman for IK Veles Capital, said a firm with 50 employees might pay anything from $3,000-$15,000. "It all depends on the menu, the level of the pension, the program and so on," she said.

Darya Ulantseva, account director at PRP Group-Weber Shandwick Affiliate Co., said her company holds corporate events in the summer and at New Year. "The venue changes from event to event, but the total cost stays more or less the same, around $3,500-$5,000," she said. "In summer, we try to choose venues where we can organize some kind of sports. Basically, we look to strengthen corporate spirit."

Hotel/Location Price for a double room Moscow Oblast tourism market segments. Lada Holiday Country Hotel
Pyatnitskoye Shosse 45 k $60 breakfast included

Upper end

This segment has been growing fast due to a stable demand for comfortable accommodation at the four- or five-star level and includes new or renovated hotels and pensions. Some belong to the Presidential Administration, diplomatic corps management department, banks or major companies.

Price range: $150-$500 and more a day

Represents 10 percent of ftheacilities in the sector

Marketing strategy: attracting corporate clients and also making use of possibilities offered by leading brands (Holiday Inn, Le Meridien)

Middle range

This segment includes venues corresponding to three- or four-star hotels and a good number of less-comfortable establishments and includes pensions and government-owned holiday homes that have entered the commercial market in recent years. Facilities here are in a satisfactory state, and some have been partially rebuilt or renovated.

Price range: $50-$150 a day for three- or four-star-level establishments, otherwise $20-$40 a day

Bottom end

This segment includes Soviet-era sanatoria, holiday homes and sports centers now without subsidies or modern management. They are having enough trouble just surviving, let alone developing and adapting to modern demands. Demand comes from people who cannot afford more.This segment is beginning to shrink as facilities undergo renovation or simply leave the market.

Price range: $5-$10 a day

Represents up to half of the facilities in the sector

Istra Holiday Country Hotel
Pyatnitskoye Shosse 45 k $50 breakfast included Buran Resort Hotel
Jaroslavskoye Shosse 80 k 1,640 RR three meals a day included Astoria Country Hotel
Jaroslavskoye Shosse 25 k 1,500 RR breakfast included Sputnik Health Center
Jaroslavskoye Shosse 20 k 1,250 RR no meals included RUS Health and Resort Center
Minskoye Shosse 115 k 1,225 RR four meals a day included Maslovo Resort Hotel
Rublevo-Uspenskoye Shosse 33 k 1,100 RR no meals included Peschany Bereg Health Center
Volokolamskoye Shosse 56 k 850 RR four meals a day included Pakhra Health Center
Kaluzhskoye Shosse 32 k 790 RR four meals a day included Yunost Resort Hotel
Shchyolkovskoye Shosse 24 k 770 RR four meals a day included Viktoria Health Center
Jaroslavskoye Shosse 38 k 650 RR breakfast included Kliazma Resort Hotel
Dmitrovskoye Shosse 12 k 650 RR three meals a day included Pushkino ITAR TASS Resort Hotel
Jaroslavskoye Shosse 23 k 535 RR three meals a day included Solnechnaya Poliana Resort Hotel
Novorizhskoye Shosse 60 k 625 RR no meals included Kolontayevo Resort Hotel
Gorkovskoye Shosse 31 k 620 RR five meals a day included Saraks Recreation Center
Dmitrovskoye Shosse 50 k 540 RR no meals included Dorokhovo-Veals Health Center
Minskoye Shosse 90 k 500 RR four meals a day included Berezki Health Center
Dmitrovskoye Shosse 11 k 95 RR three meals a day included Fateevo Resort Hotel
Kievskoye Shosse 100 k 400 RR four meals a day included