Hilton ready to face the challenge
Güncelleme Tarihi:
by Niki Gamm
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Ocak 22, 2009 00:00
ISTANBUL - The correction in global markets creates new opportunities and it is now ’the perfect time to develop,’ says Mike Collini, vice president for Hilton Hotels Corporation.
The global crisis is what is in everybody’s mind these days. Hilton will have a challenging year as a global company, and some key markets are clearly going to suffer, according to Mike Collini, Vice President Responsible for Hilton Hotels Corporation’s Development in Northern Europe. Speaking to Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review, Collini says Hilton is "fully focused" on growing the Hilton family of brands. "And we have been reinforcing and taking on additional resources to be present in all our markets," he said.
Collini’s areas of responsibility include ex-Soviet countries, today’s Commonwealth of Independent States, or CIS, and Northern Europe. They also include Russia and Northern Europe.
Until today, Hilton has identified five strategic development areas, while Turkey was always "number six." But it became evident that there was a lot of interest emerging in Turkey and the country should also be classified as a strategic market.
Key development region
Thus, Hilton named Turkey as one of its key development regions, joining Russia, Britain, Ireland, Italy, the Iberian Peninsula, Germany and Poland as core strategic areas for international development. The brand plans to concentrate on multi-unit deals in key emerging markets.
"All the Hilton family of brands could be built here," Collini said, explaining why Hilton saw Turkey as a key development region. "There were development offices and local people on the ground. I began to spend a lot of time between Russia and Turkey. We opened a development office at the Ankara Hilton last year and we have a resident Turkish manager."
Long-term prospects
In Hilton’s current portfolio, there are eight Hilton hotels with another in the pipeline and 12 Garden Inns, one of the Hilton family of brands.
"As for the global economic crisis, we are absolutely convinced on the long term aspects of the Hilton family of brands," Collini said. "Like any other business and our competitors, we are undertaking some restructuring and are fully prepared from a trading perspective. I’m here every two or three weeks because of the business opportunities and building from the momentum of last year."
Last year ended up "pretty well" for Hilton. "This year will be challenging but I think we’re very confident on the business holding up. I still think Turkey will hold up this year as a tourist destination."
"We are now seeing permanent interest in investors and developers for our brands, particularly individual landowners and large corporations that want to diversify and own land or have projects in mind for a period of time," he continued. "It’s a challenging economic climate, but now is the perfect time to develop. Land prices are coming down. If someone is prepared to take a three-to-five year view, now is the perfect time to develop and what I’m absolutely convinced is that when the business comes back, we will be in a strong position and we will be able to maximize that position."
Collini considers Istanbul as one of the most fabulous cities in the world. He said he realizes regional cities have their own identities. Seeing Turkey as "just a fabulous country," he continues: "I’ve been lucky enough to visit some of the key regional cities in Turkey as far away as Mardin. Adıyaman, Kütahya and on the Black Sea, Trabzon and Rize. All these cities are perfect opportunities for Hilton Garden Inns."
Collini’s areas of responsibility include ex-Soviet countries, today’s Commonwealth of Independent States, or CIS, and Northern Europe. They also include Russia and Northern Europe.
Until today, Hilton has identified five strategic development areas, while Turkey was always "number six." But it became evident that there was a lot of interest emerging in Turkey and the country should also be classified as a strategic market.
Key development region
Thus, Hilton named Turkey as one of its key development regions, joining Russia, Britain, Ireland, Italy, the Iberian Peninsula, Germany and Poland as core strategic areas for international development. The brand plans to concentrate on multi-unit deals in key emerging markets.
"All the Hilton family of brands could be built here," Collini said, explaining why Hilton saw Turkey as a key development region. "There were development offices and local people on the ground. I began to spend a lot of time between Russia and Turkey. We opened a development office at the Ankara Hilton last year and we have a resident Turkish manager."
Long-term prospects
In Hilton’s current portfolio, there are eight Hilton hotels with another in the pipeline and 12 Garden Inns, one of the Hilton family of brands.
"As for the global economic crisis, we are absolutely convinced on the long term aspects of the Hilton family of brands," Collini said. "Like any other business and our competitors, we are undertaking some restructuring and are fully prepared from a trading perspective. I’m here every two or three weeks because of the business opportunities and building from the momentum of last year."
Last year ended up "pretty well" for Hilton. "This year will be challenging but I think we’re very confident on the business holding up. I still think Turkey will hold up this year as a tourist destination."
"We are now seeing permanent interest in investors and developers for our brands, particularly individual landowners and large corporations that want to diversify and own land or have projects in mind for a period of time," he continued. "It’s a challenging economic climate, but now is the perfect time to develop. Land prices are coming down. If someone is prepared to take a three-to-five year view, now is the perfect time to develop and what I’m absolutely convinced is that when the business comes back, we will be in a strong position and we will be able to maximize that position."
Collini considers Istanbul as one of the most fabulous cities in the world. He said he realizes regional cities have their own identities. Seeing Turkey as "just a fabulous country," he continues: "I’ve been lucky enough to visit some of the key regional cities in Turkey as far away as Mardin. Adıyaman, Kütahya and on the Black Sea, Trabzon and Rize. All these cities are perfect opportunities for Hilton Garden Inns."