Stating that Turkey is a very good market for them and that they serve with more than 100 hotels today, Dimitris Manikis, President of Wyndham Hotels EMEA, said that inflation is high everywhere, but in Turkey, uncertainty and transportation costs are high.
Wyndham Hotels EMEA President dimitris manikis said that occupancy rates are actually flat, flatter than in 2022, but at the same time their profitability has increased due to the high prices, and that this situation is very important for their investors and that they will open 7 new hotels before the end of this year.
Dimitris Manikis, Wyndham Hotels EMEA President Dimitris Manikis stated that they will reach a number of 150 hotels by the end of 2023, that they serve in 45 different cities in Turkey where they work with a franchise system and that they will open new hotels in the next 18 months:
"Turkey is facing the same challenges that other Mediterranean Countries have, that is, costs have gone up, prices have gone up and Turkey has become an expensive destination like other Mediterranean Countries. It is actually a general trend that prices are going up. But also traveling has become more expensive, air tickets have become more expensive, for example, it is more expensive for a family of 4 people to come to Turkey now. Turkey is in a good competition with other countries. In the sector now you need to create an experience, you need to give value for the money people pay. We are now one of the most important foreign brands in Turkey. We see the challenges as a group, we have to fight the challenges together with the industry. For example, energy and personnel costs are high everywhere.''
Dimitris Manikis, Wyndham Hotels EMEA President, stated that they cannot predict how much the prices will be from one day to the next due to the inflation in Turkey which is different from other countries:
"This is the challenge in Turkey, but I think your government has a good plan to control it. The most difficult situation for a hotel right now is to make a budget after 5 months. How can you make a budget for a product without knowing the price next month, which is a big problem. The profile of travelers has not changed completely, but what people are looking for has changed. We can no longer categorize customers' requests according to countries. This year we also saw tourists who had never experienced Turkey before, which is a very good thing.''
Dimitris Manikis, President of Wyndham Hotels EMEA, said that Turkey is the 5th largest market for Wyndham, that they will open 3 new hotels in Istanbul before the end of this year, that they are following smaller cities in Turkey especially for new hotel openings, and that they are growing by acquisition within the framework of their growth strategy, and that they will open a hotel of this style in Turkey as a completely different concept in hotels by acquiring the vienna house brand.
