Noosh Guest House and Restaurant

Master classes of different dishes and various food-related events are organized in the restaurant. Old recipes are brought up and included in the menu.

The owners of the guesthouse organize events that are part of agro-tourism, such as harvesting, animal care, as well as walks. The goal of the owners is not only to prepare the food, but also to help tourists connect with the country through the kitchen, to pass on a "delicious" piece of their culture. Dialogues around the table are organized, promoting intercultural communication and bridges are built between people from different cultures.

Marketing approach

The organization runs its own website (http://www.noosh.am), Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/nooshguesthouse/) and Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/nooshguesthouse/) pages. It is registered in Booking.com, TripAdvisor and has a Google Maps location. Besides that, the owners organize various events, information visits, which help them get more popular among potential visitors.

Financial situation

Initially, the funds were invested at the expense of equity. Later, financial stability was maintained with the income from restaurant and hotel activities i.e. self-financing. At the same time, in cooperation with local farmers, the guesthouse sells to its guests 5 types of local cheese. Grant programs are also used to ensure financial stability.

Key success factors and challenges

The main guarantees of success are courage, clearly formulated dreams and goals. Vocational education has served as a solid foundation for success, i.e. mastering professional (tourism) knowledge and skills (organizational, linguistic), knowledge of different cultures, as well as being in a favourable geographical position of the enterprise. The main challenges for the development of the activity were the sceptical attitude of the locals towards the implementation of their activity, finding employees from the village (lack of skills of locals and often the stereotypical attitude towards working on the front line of the service is "shameful"). Problems in the village, especially with two key infrastructures, are water supply and electricity. In particular, water is supplied for an hour and during strong winds the electricity is often cut off. To solve the problem, the owners collect water in special containers, and regarding the electricity problem, special motors are used. Raising awareness is also a challenge.

Plans for future development

In the near future, it is planned to spread the activity in other regions and communities of the Republic of Armenia. In particular, it is planned to open a cafe in Dsegh village of Lori region soon, and based on that, in the future, to open a boutique hotel. It is also planned to use an alternative energy source in the near future, in the form of solar power plants.