Is it necessary to get Consultancy Service in Hotel Investments?

In our country, the hotel industry is experiencing a significant rise with the development of tourism, and resort hotels are increasing rapidly as well as city hotel management. This momentum also opens the doors to creating new trends, developing new concepts and incorporating new food and beverage venues into hotels...

As a result of these developments, it attracts the attention of many investors who have not had an investment in hotel management before, and the incentives given from time to time continue to increase the interest of investors and attract them to the sector. However, in reality, since investing in a hotel is not as easy as it seems at first glance, the investor may not achieve the success he expected from the facility he opened, unless he is given the right guidance, or he may make unnecessary expenses, make wrong expenses, or have to spend money again to compensate for these mistakes in the future...

Important points for investors...

Entrepreneurs who want to invest in hotels should first examine the trends and updates in the sector and conduct detailed research on the hotel industry in order to create a successful hotel project. Additionally, keeping in touch with other investors in the industry can also be beneficial to get accurate first-hand information.

For a project, there are usually many details such as costs, location selection, project design and architectural concept, construction phase, obtaining the necessary legal permits, hotel materials and general furnishing, and then personnel selection and management, sales and marketing strategies. has.

The hotel project does not end with just providing accommodation space, but also includes services in many areas such as restaurants, meeting rooms, entertainment areas and other services. For this reason, the hotel project should be designed, firstly, in accordance with the dynamics brought by the location and secondly, in accordance with the needs of the guests who prefer the hotel.

A Paradox...

At this stage, the best advice that can be given to people who want to be informed about the issues mentioned above and who want to invest in a hotel by taking professional steps is to make an agreement with a 'consultant' who is experienced in the sector and in his field, as soon as he adopts the idea of owning a hotel and has a professional will receive support.

However, the following questions may arise from the investor side here... Which consultancy company should he contract with? Should we set out with a company or an individual person? How will I know if I am guided correctly? Is my payment high?

Consultant... According to what criteria?

According to our observations, unfortunately, there is no organization or public institution in Turkey that monitors hotel consultancy and the criteria by which consultants provide consultancy services. In other words, any hotelier who does not continue his job as a professional employee can work as a consultant. The confusion here is actually this: Within the framework of certain criteria, or in this branch of business that does not have a certification, anyone with good diction and speaking skills that can persuade the hotel investor can provide consultancy. Perhaps, a hotelier who has only worked as a manager in a 20-room hotel in his professional career becomes an investor consultant for a 150-room project, and while he has never worked in a hotel affiliated with a particular brand during his previous career and has not worked under brand standards, he wonders "which brand should I buy?" ' can give advice on this subject to the investor who asks the question.

Here, it is useful to underline that 'our say is out of the parliament' and that there are also companies in the market that provide 'consultancy' services in a very professional manner and have 'proven their maturity' with the projects they have undertaken. . However, this number is very small, and those who work individually and provide 'consultancy' services for much less than the services these companies provide and the price they invoice in return are much higher...

Choosing a Brand for the Hotel to Invest in?

One of the important points is the investor's choice of Brand... Nowadays, the number of investors who are aware that it would be beneficial for their hotel to progress with a brand has begun to exceed the number of hotel investors who want to operate their hotel with a unique hotel name of their own. The important thing here is 'which brand? Is it suitable for the location? Having a consultant who will give you the right answers to questions such as 'Is it useful to make an agreement with a brand that provides services to resort hotels and city hotels?'

One of the issues to consider here is this. It is already a known fact that many brands in the market make 'broker fees' (intermediary payments) to consultant companies or individual consultants... For this reason, you should make sure that your consultant prioritizes his own earnings rather than what contributions this brand can make to the hotel when choosing a brand. must..

However, it is also true that it will be beneficial for investors to choose the right brand if they work with well-known companies that provide professional and objective consultancy services.

This problem can be solved with an Accreditation Certificate

In the past few years, the Ministry of Tourism and Culture has introduced certification requirements for hotels on various issues, along with the realities that the natural flow of life brings to our lives. It would be beneficial to conduct such a study on this critical consultancy issue, which has many open arms.

There should be a detailed course and training program to be prepared for people who want to continue their career not as an employee in a hotel, but as a consultant in projects or in open hotels. For example, a consultancy company should be opened after completing separate courses and obtaining official certificates on subjects such as Food and Beverage, Kitchen, Front Office, Sales, Project general management, Budget preparation, preparation for 5-year return on investment, or if the person wants to operate in all these branches. If so, must complete all courses. If the consultant wants to open a company that will carry out these activities, then he must either employ people with these certificates as insured people or have certificates for all branches... In short, a consultant who does not have certification in areas such as food and beverage and kitchen can work in a hotel should not be able to provide general consultancy services or should be employing a person with this certificate in their company...

It is possible that there is no requirement to graduate from a university related to hotel management, but a certain 'consultancy' training must be provided under the special program of a partner university (for example, Anadolu University), and people who want to become consultants must have a minimum of professional working years within a certain period of time. This issue can be taken under control by preventing individuals and institutions without special certification from providing consultancy services, such as having held managerial positions in certain positions.