The EBRD Business Advisory Services is helping beach resorts streamline business.
When Innokentyi Lazarev, a young businessman from Vladivostok, purchased a totally ruined ship-repair plant on the Far East Russia coast some years ago with the idea of building a beach resort, he knew the ambitious plan required quite some effort.
Thanks to large investment, a dedicated management team and the natural beauty of the Sea of Japan coast, where the likes of Russian-born Hollywood actor Yul Brynner once spent his summer holidays, the Sidimi resort expanded rapidly.
Upgrading facilities at the Sidimi resort
In 2010 and 2011, some 130 summer cabins were built at Sidimi, with a capacity for 500 guests and four modern water purification tanks. The beach was cleaned and equipped with piers and rescue services and two cafes were opened. In addition, the resort organised a wide range of services and entertainment, including free WiFi internet, sports facilities, kayaks and catamarans.
Better management systems
Due to its increased complexity, the resort urgently needed to introduce automation technology to control its operations. Once the EBRD’s Business Advisory Services, funded in Russia by Japan, matched Sidimi with Planeta-R, a local consulting company, the resort was rapidly able to introduce a fully automated system of cashless payments and restaurant management software in its cafes.
Sidimi’s 28 staff members were trained to work with the new management system. Programmed cards or bracelets gave guests the opportunity to use any service and to pay later at check-out. This system hugely increased the level of efficiency at the resort, making it more attractive to customers. Since the introduction of these innovations the company’s turnover rose by 53 per cent in 2011 and the number of people employed at the resort almost doubled.
