Top 12 hoteliers to watch in 2012

Erol Sezer

2 Erol Sezer
General manager, DUBAI PROJECTS, RIXOS

The landscape of luxury hotels in Dubai has seemed crowded in recent years. However, a breath of fresh air has brought new life into the market, with the introduction of Rixos bringing the very best in Turkish hospitality.

In March, Rixos The Palm opened to much fanfare, and later in the year there will be a second property in the emirates, the Rixos Bab Al Bahr in Ras Al Khaimah. In charge of the brand’s Dubai projects is general manager Erol Sezer, himself from Turkey.

Story continues below

Sezer has a long history in hospitality, stemming from his family managing a boutique hotel in Turkey. He began his 24-year journey in the sector with a strong focus on F&B, working for the likes of Dedeman and Steigenberger, eventually working his way up to being research and development manager and an F&B coordinator for Rixos in 2002.

In 2005 Sezer launched his book of Turkish recipes, Feastanbul, and says it is now his pleasure to “provide the unique tastes of Turkey to this new region”. He explains: “Dubai is such a multicultural melting pot and introducing and educating our target market on the difference of Turkish hospitality and the quality of service we provide is a fascinating task”.

While The Palm project was a huge undertaking, following the company’s scuppered first attempt to break into the region — the Zabeel Saray management contract it had won was handed to Jumeirah Group in 2010 — the upcoming RAK property will have almost three times the number of rooms, at 627.

For the moment though, Sezer says that the focus is certainly on Dubai: “As our chairman Fettah Tamince says, Dubai is the Champions League for us and we should be performing at the top of our game. Dubai is one of our key global destinations and our newly launched hotel is a gateway towards many more upcoming openings and projects in the region.”

Sezer thinks that the success of the properties in the Middle East will be their “small but significant touches”, such as the “passion of serving and the pride that each one of our team members gets when they are offering any service to any of our guests”. He adds: “Before a guest tells us, we anticipate his every need and try to act on it”.

Even being such a young company — launched in 2000 by Fettah Tamince in Antalya — Sezer says: “We are confident that our global Rixos clientele will be following us to all the new regions we introduce, wanting to experience what more surprises and innovative services we offer this time.”

“I very much wish for this new presence in the UAE to become one of the new favourite Rixos resort locations, and a true crossroads for local, regional and international travellers.”

Article continues on next page ...