Turkey is ‘in spot’ for luxurious hotels

(SABAH)
Turkey has become the new address for luxurious hotel chains. After Jumeirah, Missoni, Rotana and Viceroy, now German food giants Dr. Oetker is planning to open their first hotel in Turkey.
Just as Turkey was becoming the 'in spot' when it comes to luxury goods, such as clothing, automobiles and accessories, it will now soon become the ideal location for luxury in tourism. Famous brands from the luxurious hotel segment, with rooms costing up to thousands of dollars a night, are now getting in line to get a piece of Turkey.
After Dubai's Rotana, Jumeirah and Viceroy as well as the global jet society's favorite Missoni Hotel, another ultra luxurious brand has put Turkey on its radar. Germany's Dr. Oetker, which has interests in a series of areas including financing, beverages and maritime, in addition to their food products, is planning to open its first hotel in Turkey. With a series of five-star luxurious hotels in a number of central destinations spanning from Paris to Marrakesh, Oetker Hotels Collection (OHC) CEO Frank Marrenbach has expressed that they are following Turkey closely. CEO of a brand who employs two employees for each customer, Marrenbach says they plan to open ten hotels in the region. "In addition to Turkey, we are also thinking about Qatar, Lebanon and Oman for hotel investments. We will be focusing on this region," says Marrenbach. Just last week luxurious hotel chain Viceroy Hotels Group announced that they will be opening a five-star hotel spread out on 16 hectares of land with a view of the Bosphorus towards the end of 2013. Meanwhile, global jet society favorite Missoni Hotel has announced plans to invest in tourism in Antalya.
Giants of the Gulf
The first mega firm to enter Turkey this year was Jumeirah owned by Daubai Emir al Maktoum. Jumeriah came in and took over the operations of Demet Sabancı Çetindoğan's Pera Palas. Following Jumeirah was the Rotana Group, with four brands and 70 hotels, who signed on to their first agreement just a few days ago in order to take over operations of the 300-room Rhassos Hotel in Iskenderun.
Michelin-Star Restaurants
With hotels in France, Germany and Morocco, OHC Vice-Chairman Samir Daqqaq noted that they have aggressive growth plans for North Africa and the Middle East. Every hotel belonging to the chain, which tends to create hotels based on chateau and palatial architecture, has a Michelin star restaurant.