Rostov-on-Don on the Map of Vipservice

Rostov-on-Don

Rostov-on-Don is the largest city in the southwest of Russia, the administrative centre of the Southern Federal District, one of the leading scientific (48 institutions of higher education!) and industrial regions of Russia, a port serving 5 seas, and a City of Military Glory. The modern Rostov-on-Don is a city of contrasts with colourful facades of business centres peeking through the rock-solid merchants' mansions, where the traditions of orthodox Cossacks peacefully coexist with customs of the Caucasus. Rostov-on-Don is quite literally one of the greenest cities of Russia with the country's largest Botanical garden. Moreover, one cannot help but admire the vibrant local markets, and the wonderful sculptures of characters from the novels of Mikhail Sholokhov ("Rostovchanki", "Nakhalyonok", "Ded Schukar") on the waterfront of Don River.

   

Hermitage and Don Quixote hotels

Vipservice opened its first hotels in Rostov-on-Don in 2007, on the initiative of Tatiana Nechepaeva, head of a local travel company. Tatiana was inspired by a beautiful building on the banks of the Don, so similar to the St. Petersburg's Hermitage Museum. Back then Rostov had hardly any hotels, so the construction of the new object was considered a strategic step for the city and included in the local tourism development programme. Among the visitors of the opening ceremony for the first Hermitage 4* hotel with 31 rooms was the President of the Rostov-on-Don Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

The opening of the Don Quixote 3* with 87 rooms near the Hermitage was marked by a visit of the city mayor. This year the low-cost hotel celebrates its 5th anniversary. It has an excellent rating of 8.7, and Tatiana is convinced that the hotel is unrivalled in Rostov within its category.

'The majority of our guests are business travellers and MICE tourists from Moscow, St. Petersburg, Yekaterinburg, Samara and other neighbouring cities. Quite often they work in the pharmaceuticals and retail industries, as well as embassies. A large number of sports people also choose our accommodation: there is a stadium across the river, which has been renovated for international sports games. We're known for serving delicious local dishes: Don herring, zander, Ukha (fish soup), borscht with salo (fatback) and garlic, Solyanka soup, and seasonal fruits. And, of course, the beautiful views of Don River make us stand out among the competition', Tatiana says.

Call Centre of subagent business (Portbilet):

The Call Centre started its operations in 2014. Back then the team had only 10 operators, and today this number has gone up to 44. The Call Centre provides support to the clients of Portbilet, deals with refunds in GDS, and customer complaints. Tatiana Yemelyanova is the Head of this division.

The key indicators of the Call Centre's successful performance are the timely resolution of the incoming requests and positive feedback from the subagents. We aim to provide personalised approach to each Portbilet client. Today we spend a maximum of 15 minutes per request, even during the peak season. Compared to 2017, the Call Centre has grown the number of processed requests by over 19 thousand. As of June 2019, we resolved a total of 88,333 requests.
'On February 20 2019, we launched the first-ever subagents questionnaire on the quality of the service we offer. 57 companies were involved in the survey. For the most part, the feedback from our subagents has been very positive! Some even expressed their gratitude for us "putting common sense above protocols", which is extremely kind', says Zhanna Gabdulina, Deputy Head of the division.

Vipservice South

In 2014, Vipservice partnered with the leading agency in the south of Russia, the Rostov-on-Don Maverick. This allowed Vipservice Holding to expand its reach, and Maverick gained access to the online ticketing system for passengers, the Portbilet system. This has multiplied the sales volumes of the local office by nearly a factor of 4. As of today, Vipservice South includes around 440 subagents all over Russia, has 700 corporate clients and 26 points of sale. The subagent business has offices in Volgograd, Nizhny Novgorod, Rostov Region, Krasnodar, Moscow Region and Moscow itself. The division's headquarters are located in Rostov-on-Don.