Bugra Berberoglu. Bugra Berberoglu.

Bugra Berberoglu
General Manager & Regional Director
Kempinski Hotel Ishtar Dead Sea

After graduating from the Ecôle Hôtelière de Lausanne, Berberoglu embarked on his career in the hospitality sector gaining experience in the North American market at both city and resort hotels with InterContinental, prior to joining Kempinski as pre-opening and opening General Manager in Chad.

An accomplished hotelier, Berberoglu was at the helm of Kempinski Hotel Djibouti before his appointment in Jordan in June 2008. It was during his stint as the pre-opening General Manager at Djibouti where Berberoglu received accolades for leading his team in what is now considered as the fastest pre-opening process ever in Kempinski’s history, fully outfitting the hotel, recruiting and training staff and opening the hotel within an astounding seven months.

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He then took over the reigns of Kempinski Hotel Ishtar Dead Sea, which is spread over 194,000m² of gardens and fetaures the largest spa in the Middle East, from Duncan O'Rourke, now

With some “big shoes to fill”, Berberoglu assumed the position quickly and steadily began “placing his fingerprints on every aspect of the operation”, say those that nominated him.

New initiatives within his first six months included safety shoes, more club cars, and free wireless internet within the staff accommodation. In addition, he hosts weekly staff luncheons, a monthly staff meeting, a Weekly C-Shift Breakfast and occasionally attends Friday prayer at a local mosque with some staff.

Demonstrating his ability to help his team through major events, during the World Economic Forum 2009, which was hosted by the hotel, Berberoglu “was not too shy of driving his own personal club car up and down the resort, picking up and dropping off guests who needed to get to a meeting of function quickly”.

It is the above, in addition to his regional role overseeing the Kempinski operation in Jordan, Lebanon and Syria, that make Berberoglu a strong candidate for a Hotelier Middle East Award.