Hosts receive lessons in the art of smiling

Warmth doesn't flow naturally from many Russians. In the run-up to the Winter Olympics, Sochi hotel managers are getting crash courses in how to smile.

Russia's Olympic University, which opened in Moscow and the Games host city five years ago, has been training hotel managers in hospitality so they can pass on the wisdom to their staff.

The initiative, officials hope, will break down stereotypes of Russians as cold and severe.

"Learning how to handle guests from other countries, it's a speciality that we have to learn better," says course participant Vladimir Shushkin.

The Olympic hospitality workshops, developed at the request of the Sochi 2014 Organising Committee, include how to smile at strangers, maintain eye contact and focus on customer service rather than hotel rules.

"We had case studies of difficult types of guests, how to deal with drunk guests or if the guest asks for something impossible," says Tatyana Pomyatkinskaya, one organiser. "For as much as our city is holding the Olympics and intends to become a world-class resort, it is important for us and the hotels where they will be staying that hospitality meets international standards."