Zirve Eki - ISTANBUL REstate

16-17 Haziran 2010
all these hotel projects that we have the adequate financing and
partners who are believing in it and the putting these investments for
the next so many years. Tar›k how do you see your involvement in
case the hotel investors are approaching you? I am sure they are first
of all not very much experienced. They think hotel operator gives them
a guaranteed return and all the stuff and if it comes to financing' is
there any support you are giving?
Tar›k Nasser: Certainly it is a case by case issue. At Marriott we
like to treat every deal as a different deal. There are some markets
already in Turkey that we might consider some sort of financial
involvement. As we were talking earlier today, before the crisis we
even had a scheme, financial scheme geared towards focusing on
Turkey on the secondary cities. We can reinitiate that. I don't know
how soon that will be. It will also depend on what kind of local partners
we can bring together. But certainly to kick start a rapid development
we as an operator believe that we should have some scene in the
game to encourage the local developers, local investors because that
will also show the commitment of the operator to the market. Having
said that the due diligence has to be done very delicately.
Alaeddin Babao¤lu: Looking the comparison in the Turkish market
now to central European countries, we have here still another, I don't
know, some 10 to 15 thousand hotels to go and this is a large
investment potential. And there is also in the future I am confident
that new structures of financing for hotels will also come like in central
Europe because they are biggest hotel owners, the funds in general.
Now I am coming to another point which is the green building issue.
As Entegre, you are, I am sure also, in Turkey aware about this. How
is the development with the green building, licensing etc? Is the
awareness in the market with regards to construction development
there, how is your view?
Kemal Okumufl: In Turkey, this green building certification is
increasing. Recently established branch of USGBC, the Green Building
Council which is called ÇEDB‹K, they are trying to develop the rules
for the, procedures for the registration. It is very common in Turkey
mainly in shopping centers at the moment, LEED and BREEAM
certification but there are also some registration systems which is also
applied by the ministry of tourism which is called energy star and
Gayrimenkul Zirvesi 10
which is local. So in the future it will be, we will see a lot of projects
which will be registered.
Alaeddin Babao¤lu: Which helps I mean all of us, also to operators,
we save cost.
Kemal Okumufl: Energy saving, yes.
Alaeddin Babao¤lu: We have better GOPs, which is now supported
also totally in Turkey by the government also.
Kemal Okumufl: Not at the moment but there will be a rating for
the buildings which will be coming soon. So as per your energy
consumption per square meter, there will be different rates for the
energy and the water which is not applied in the future, now but it
may be applied in the future. If your building is energy efficient, your
operating cost for electricity and water may be less. So this will be
beneficial for the operators.
Mike Collini: Right, we have just completed a two year program
where we have measured the energy consumption, the carbon output,
the water usage in the waste on 1300 hotels. Our program is called
LightStay and measuring 1300 hotels we have sort of saved enough
water to fill 650 Olympic size swimming pools, the equivalent of taking
35000 cars off the road, enough electricity saved to power 2000 or
3000 hotels per year. Sustainability is now an integral part of our brand
standards. And that goes in, so it is a two sort of pronged attack you
know, from our brand standards in the design and construction. Then
we have had a program which we initiated in Europe a few years ago,
called We Care where we have actively empowered our employees to
take responsibility, to come up with suggestions and not only has it
been, you know, exciting for the employee but it really makes and
comes there to the bottom line.
Alaeddin Babao¤lu: It is music for our ears as investors because
really every cent, it is good for the environment, it is good for pockets
because especially energy costs, I mean, every month the bill, if it comes
on the table in a hotel project.
Tar›k Nasser: It is a win-win for operators and owners. The more
the technology becomes available and cheaper the more it will penetrate
in our brand standards. We will within a couple of years see in our
brand standards like solar panels, and a lot of, I don't know, wind
system integrated into the main energy system in the hotel because
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