SATE AVETISYAN
MANAGING DIRECTOR AT
CHECK INN DILIJAN
I had the desire to start my own business
since 2014 when I was 19 years old. My first attempts
were in other spheres - a small coffee point, event
management company, etc. In 2017, I went to Dilijan
with my friends and from that moment it all start-
ed. We stayed in the house of one of our friends.
The location, the view, the cleanliness and comfort
of the house contributed to the development of
the idea that there are all the necessary facilities
for starting a hotel business. After some time, the
house turned into a guest house with 4 rooms, and
I invested in it all my time and love.
As time went by, my interest in hospitality and tourism increased. After a year of operation, I realized
that there is a high demand and the 4 rooms were no longer enough, in addition, there were some
nuances that I learned during the operation, and decided that I needed a new place with a large num-
ber of rooms and amenities. So, at the beginning of 2019, I founded the “Check Inn Dilijan” guesthouse
with a new address and new facilities.
What issues and obstacles did you encounter
during your activity?
In the beginning, the first problem was
the lack of professional education and a lack of
awareness of the field. I graduated with a degree
in Public and Municipal Management, and only
management skills were applicable to my job.
This problem was solved through meetings with
industry professionals, participation in various
projects and the study of thematic literature.
However, it should be noted that the best solu-
tion is the experience, because the big and small
problems that arise in the course of operation,
and their prevention, are the best training that
can be obtained in our field.
The next problem is still the underdevelopment
of tourism infrastructure, but a lot of work is
being done to solve this problem.
I don’t want to talk too much about the issues
and obstacles since they are solvable and only
contribute to the development of business and
industry.
Are you planning to expand your business in
the near future?
I consider business expansion to be an
integral part of success, that’s why I already have
a well-developed plan for expanding the “Check
Inn” business. Surely, I plan to involve new com-
munities, but the use of new technologies in
business has become an important and manda-
tory requirement these days, so I set the imple-
mentation of IT in the hospitality industry as the
basis for expanding my business. I will be pleased
to present the details of the idea after the launch
of the project.
What will be like the future of tourism in
Armenia in your opinion?
I am convinced that it is necessary to cre-
ate a tourism product/brand for the country, it
should be clear for what kind of tourism people
should come to Armenia. Today we are in search
16 • HOTELIER • wwww.hoteliermagazine.net •
of new markets, and for us, for example, China,
Russia, and India are new markets. Annually, 200
million tourists leave China, and if 1% of the 200
million people come to Armenia, this will be a
great achievement for the development of our
tourism. Therefore, we must work towards these
countries. We need to study these countries bet-
ter. You cannot develop tourism while sitting;
you cannot assume that tourism will develop
only through TV advertising. It is necessary to
create a product and deliver it to those countries
from where we want to receive tourists, and
only after that start the promotion. I think that
Armenia and the relevant authorities are on the
right track, and at this pace, year by year, we will
steadily increase the number of tourists visiting
Armenia.
What interesting occasion do you remember
while working in this sphere?
There are many memories that evoke
positive or negative emotions, but I will never
forget one occasion. We have 9 guest rooms on
the 3rd floor of the guest house, renovated, with
a separate toilet and all necessary facilities, and
on the 2nd floor we have a storage room that is
not repaired, and we use it to place additional
accessories. Once all 9 rooms were booked, and
2 friends came who did not book the room in
advance but wanted to spend the night specifi-
cally in our guesthouse. After getting acquainted
with the situation, I realized that there is no alter-
native way, and I will have to welcome them. We
cleaned the room on the 2nd floor very quickly,
made something similar to a bed and welcomed
them. To my surprise, they were very pleased and
happy the next day. Aside from being a memo-
rable episode, it was an excellent test for quickly
navigating and finding a solution in a situation
like this which is mandatory in our field.