The maximum number of guest houses will be allowed to accommodate no more than 30 people at a time, and the minimum room size will be 9 square meters. m for one person and 12 for two. Such parameters are contained in the draft regulations on the classification of guest houses, which were prepared by the Ministry of Economic Development. The document defines the types and scope of their services, up to the frequency of changing linen and towels. It has been prepared as a companion to the draft law on guest houses, which is being prepared for the second reading, which should launch an experimental regime in a number of regions. Only those objects that are included in the special register will be able to work in them and advertise. And for this it is necessary to go through the classification procedure.
What should a guest house look like
By December 31, 2025, the owners of guest houses in the regions where the experimental regime of such facilities will be introduced must include them in a special register of classified accommodation facilities. Without going through the classification procedure, they will not be able to work and advertise their services and post information about themselves on aggregator websites — such conditions are contained in the draft law on guest houses being developed in the State Duma. To implement the future law, the Ministry of Economic Development has developed a draft government decree and draft regulations on the classification of such facilities. The document is at the disposal of Izvestia.
As Izvestia wrote, it is planned to introduce such a regime in at least seven regions — the initial version suggested launching it in three regions (Krasnodar Territory, Crimea and Sevastopol), but then four more were included in the list (the Republics of Altai, Dagestan, Altai and Krasnodar Territories, Kaliningrad region). However, this list is not final either, and it may expand by the start of the experiment, which is scheduled for 2025. The special regime will last about two years.
According to the developed requirements for a guest house, it is planned to strictly limit the number of its rooms — there should be no more than 15 of them. At the same time, no more than 30 people can be accommodated in such an object at the same time. If the guest house is jointly owned or jointly owned by individuals, then entry into the register will be possible only with the consent of all owners.
And the annex to the classification regulations contains other requirements: the accommodation facility must have an information sign "guest house" on the facade, round-the-clock cold and hot water supply. If there is no hot water, then the owner must ensure that the water is heated. If the house is located in an area with intermittent water supply, then it is necessary to have a water supply for at least a day.
Guest houses will also have to provide guests with drinking water — at least half a liter per day per person. Heating systems should keep the temperature at less than 21.5 degrees, and smoke detectors should be installed in the eating areas.
«The guest house's rooms are equipped with opening windows that provide natural light and ventilation, as well as protection from the weather, temperature influences, noise and dust," the document says. He also prescribes the types of mandatory cleaning: after the guest's arrival, general, intermediate.
The minimum room size should be at least 9 square meters for single occupancy and at least 12 square meters. m for double rooms. If the room is intended for several people, then there should be no more than six places for them, and for each person, with year—round accommodation, there should be at least 6 square meters. m (with seasonal - four). Bed linen must be provided and changed at least once every five days, and towels (two per person) — once every three days.
"The guest is provided with wireless Internet access in all rooms and common areas of the guest house," the requirements state.
The Ministry of Economic Development told Izvestia that, together with deputies, regional authorities and the industry community, "a lot of work is underway to create a mechanism for special legal regulation for guest houses."
— It offers clear, easily achievable and unencumbered requirements for their owners and will allow entrepreneurs and individuals to legally conduct business, and tourists guarantees safety and a higher quality of services, the agency said. — When developing the mechanism, proposals from regions and industry associations were taken into account in order to achieve a balance between the interests of business and tourists.
Are guest houses legalized
According to the draft, compliance with the requirements will be monitored during supervisory activities "within the framework of regional state control in the field of the tourism industry."
Sangaji Tarbayev, head of the State Duma Committee on Tourism, told Izvestia that the draft law on guest houses is currently being prepared for the second reading and is being worked out with the Duma legal department.
— In order to implement it, the Ministry of Economic Development has prepared this draft government decree, he said. — The steps being taken to legalize guest houses will allow these really existing and functioning accommodation facilities to be removed from the gray zone and make their services better and safer for tourists.
Guest houses are in demand on aggregator sites - by the end of last year, the number of bookings for such facilities increased almost one and a half times, the press service of the Association of Travel Aggregators (ATAG) told Izvestia.
"Classification will help protect the interests of tourists, and travel aggregators welcome the introduction of mechanisms that help users receive guaranteed quality services and conduct transparent financial transactions," they noted, adding that it is important to provide a transition period for owners of such houses, so that they have enough time to adapt their properties to the classification requirements.
Georgy Mokhov, Vice President and head of the Legal Affairs Committee of the Russian Union of Travel Industry, said that the law introducing the definition of guest houses and the method of their legalization has been waiting for several years.
— Guest houses are still not regulated and are only under the supervision of municipal authorities, although this is one of the most numerous categories of tourist accommodation in our country, he said.
According to the expert, restrictions on the number of rooms, the size of houses and other parameters are controversial, as they can lead to uneven competition with small hotels.
— Now we are waiting for the draft law in the second reading to understand what it will be in its final form and how the regulation of the activities of guest houses will be implemented, he said. — This is a very complex area of regulation related to residential buildings, it affects thousands of citizens who want to legally and legally provide services without risks to their business.
However, Aleksan Mkrtchyan, Vice President of the Alliance of Travel Agencies (ATA), doubted that the owners of real estate operating as guest houses would willingly and immediately enter the legal field.
— The task of the state and deputies here is simple — to force owners of unregistered houses to pay taxes, he said. — But, I say with full responsibility, no one in the country will be able to say for sure how many such guest houses we have. They're not registered. Moreover, they work on the principle of "word of mouth", when people who have rested in the conditional Lazarevskoye on the Black Sea give phones to a certain "aunt Zina" to their friends. And they already negotiate with her on their own and directly, come and pay for everything in cash.
Aleksan Mkrtchyan also noted that switching to a legal field will automatically mean an increase in the cost of accommodation in such a private sector, therefore, in his opinion, tourists themselves "will not run to tell about Aunt Zina to the authorities."
What the regions think
Izvestia asked the regional authorities for data on the number of guest houses. As the Ministry of Tourism of the Kaliningrad Region informed Izvestia, there are about 50 guest houses with 460 rooms on its territory, of which about 30 are located in individual residential buildings.
"We believe that the adoption of the law will not only bring them out of the shadows, but also ensure the provision of high—quality and safe services to consumers," reads the response to the editorial's request. — Of course, the conduct of this experiment should be synchronized with other initiatives. For example, it is currently unclear from the text of the draft law whether an individual "owner of a guest house" is a tourist tax payer. But in general, we can only welcome the experiment in the region."
In the press service of the Ministry of Resorts, Tourism and Olympic Heritage The Krasnodar Region noted that "the problem of guest houses is particularly acute for the region."
"This is due to the geographical and native resort location of our region. Historically, a large number of apartment building owners rent out rooms as surplus private space for vacationers. In this regard, about 70% of almost 11 thousand accommodation facilities in the Krasnodar Territory are currently not classified," they replied.
For Dagestan, the classification of guest houses is of strategic importance, the press service of the Ministry of Tourism and Folk Arts of the republic said.
— Guest houses, especially in mountainous and coastal areas, play an important role in accommodating tourists, but currently some of them operate outside the legal field. The lack of clear legal regulation of this segment hinders its full integration into the tourism industry, limits opportunities for interaction with tour operators and participation in federal promotion programs," the department said.
They noted that the emergence of clear rules of the game for the owners of guest houses will ensure control over compliance with fire safety standards, sanitary and epidemiological requirements and protect the rights of consumers.
"In addition, the legalization of the activities of guest houses will contribute to an increase in tax revenues, the development of tourist infrastructure and the growth of tourist flow," the regional ministry said.
Olga Filipenkova, First Deputy Minister of Economic Development of the Altai Republic, also recalled the need to improve the safety of tourists and protect their rights.
— Amendments concerning the requirements for guest houses, their classification and control are designed to improve the quality of services, she said, noting that guest houses provide about 50% of temporary accommodation services in the region.
And the Minister of Entrepreneurship and Tourism of the Vladimir region, Yulia Boyarkina, provided data on popular among tourists To Suzdal.
— There are 260 guest houses in this city, which is 44% more than the total number of classified accommodation facilities in the region. Thus, we have a huge number of uncontrolled accommodation facilities," she said.
According to her, the region supports the launch of an experiment on guest houses, as this will create equal conditions for all participants in the hotel business and will allow to regulate relations with suppliers of housing and communal services.
— The arithmetic is simple: there are three people registered in the house, it is operated as a guest and accepts from ten to 40 guests per month. As a result, we have an unplanned overload in the removal of garbage and waste, which gives rise to the discontent of local residents and a negative impression for the guests of the territory," said Yulia Boyarkina.
Thus, the new system will allow, according to her, to correctly plan the load on the city, which is caused by the flow of tourists, in particular, its cleaning and garbage collection.
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