On 17 January the first training course started on the basis of the Russian International Olympic University educational programme which is aimed to develop special competences of managerial staff in the hospitality industry according to the olympic standards. 

The "Olympic hospitality" programme has been developed by RIOU at the OCOG "Sochi 2014" request and now is being implemented in liaison with the city administration under the Memorandum of Cooperation.

Training courses include studying client groups which are to be presented in Sochi during the Games and supposed to be the main service customers, as well as the specific features of working with them to make the stay of the Games guests and participants comfortable. A separate issue-related block of the programme is devoted to the rules how to provide services for guests with special needs.  

Olympic hospitality competences, which are to be acquired by the participants of the educational programme, have been agreed and approved by the International Olympic Committee experts.

The participants of the training course – executives of premises and Sochi administration staff – will be able to gain unique knowledge through the lectures of the trainer and get required skills through practical classes, case study and special situations analysis from real servicing practice.

The programme implies not only gaining special knowledge and skills of olympic hospitality but it also gives the participants an opportunity to disseminate the knowledge acquired within the industry. For this purpose, after the course having been completed, the participants will be provided guidance materials to enable them to conduct training courses for their own staff.

The "Olympic hospitality' trainings are to be conducted by a RIOU teacher Irina Bezmenova – Doctor of Psychology (PhD in psychology), business trainer, one of the leading specialists in the country in service management and executives training complex projects management in hospitality industry.

A set of two-day trainings within the "Olympic hospitality" educational programme will have been completed in April 2012 with the final conference where the participants who completed the training courses successfully will be given certificates of the Russian International Olympic University.