The Kempinski Nile Hotel, Garden City, Cairo, has become the city’s most recognized hotel with a boutique flair, featuring the most exhilarating dining locations right through Egypt. This hotel is an impressive symbol of the nation’s emergence as a destination for travelers to the Middle East, introducing the art of simple things done magnificently, by creating a hotel with a promise, and setting a new benchmark for luxury and sophistication in the region. We had an exclusive chance to speak with the Kempinski veteran himself, Mr. Fuat Koroglu…

Mr Fuat Koroglu, General Manager of Kempinski Nile Hotel - Please introduce your self to DG readers…
A native of Turkey, started by studying Geography and after getting my degree I took a leap of faith and graduated from Istanbul University with a MA in business administration and qualifications in tourism management before joining Swissotel The Bosphorus as a management trainee, gaining experience in food & beverage as well as operations prior to my move in to banquet services and then becoming restaurant manager within the hotel. Capitalizing on this handson experience, I moved to the Ciragan Palace in its pre-opening phase in 1992 to head up its banquet operations – an arena I made my own with promotion to convention services manager, director of banquet operations and finally director of food and beverage. During this time, I consistently exceeded financial goals and supervised high profile events for organizations such as NATO, the World Economic Forum, Black Sea Conference as well as the very top tier of Istanbul weddings. Taking this experience overseas, my first posting outside of Turkey was at the Kempinski Hotel Mall of the Emirates, Dubai, which I joined in 2009 as executive assistant manager, overseeing exceptional achievements in quality assurance and sustainability issues, with the hotel now ranked among the top two for LQA both in Dubai and through the Kempinski group.

In a difficult economy such as ours; how crucial is it for hoteliers and other travel suppliers, to not just provide great service to their guests, but to ‘own’ their customers throughout the travel planning and decision making cycle – What advice would you give hoteliers?
The quality of Cairo’s high-end hotel infrastructure also explains part of market dynamics. Although Cairo features a fair number of 5-star hotels, a relatively large proportion is made of ageing properties trading on their global brand names but often in need of a facelift. This has provided an opportunity for new luxury hotels capable of meeting seasoned travelers’ expectations. Kempinski Nile Hotel is a case in point as it seeks to introduce the concept of boutique hotel to the Egyptian market and therefore expand a new niche within the high end hospitality segment; this follows the global trend for smaller size hotels offering a more personalized service to its guests. The local hospitality market is getting more sophisticated and a lot more segmented than in the past. Generally speaking, new 5-star properties coming to the market tend to do so with a new proposition and capable of expanding the market rather than purely cannibalizing it. I think Cairo should reconsider its pricing, guests are choosing to stay else where now due to the increase in room rates. Value for money should be the focus when trying to attract international guests.

From your standpoint - what is the magical equation for the hospitality industry’s survival of unpredictable shocks and how can they establish appropriate responses, and risk management programs to minimize their impact?
It is granted that, on the face of it, the high end hospitality segment in Cairo may appear a bit crowded; over the past year, there were [2] new properties which started operations offering an additional increase. In addition, [2] other properties carried out extensive refurbishment which overall increased the quality of accommodation available in the market. From a macro point of view, private real estate companies or entrepreneurs have been driving new openings and Cairo’s market in general. This is the case of TMG, Orascom [maybe PHD] for instance. Real estate developers have been increasingly venturing into retail, commercial and hospitality sectors as a means of obtaining steady recurring revenue streams. This being said, the market still features healthy growth rates as Egypt is now attracting a higher proportion of high-end visitors. Whether, these are tourists or businessmen, as a way to diversify the overall tourist mix - the high end segment being generally more resilient to economic cycles than mass tourism. Given the importance of tourism revenue to Egypt overall GDP, the Government has been well inspired to try and promote high end tourism as a way to diversify revenue from the hospitality business. From a macro point of view, the authorities have facilitated the promotion of new high to medium end real estate projects in and around Cairo - which all entail the roll-out of golf courses. This is a unique opportunity for the hotel industry in Cairo to rely on golf tourism going forward and attract a higher share of high end tourists than in the past. Compared to other destinations, Cairo can offer a unique mix of outstanding cultural heritage coupled with splendid and diverse golfing experiences.

On what foundation does the “Kempinski Brand” assemble their driven, qualified team to effectively manage hotel properties, achieve exceptional quality assurance, sustainability issues and develop a plan for maximizing market potential and profitability? Training, training, training!! We take pride in holding daily training sessions, every employee is an ambassador to the hotel and our training promotes total brand awareness, Kempinski is all about excellence. We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit. How different is establishing an impressive property such as the Kempinski Nile Hotel in central Cairo, in preference to your former posts within Turkey, and executive assistant manager in 2009 at the Kempinski Hotel, Mall of the Emirates, Dubai? Kempinski Nile Hotel has also just been recognized as part of the hugely prestigious Leading Hotels of the World Group – another first for Cairo.

It’s that attention to detail and service, which makes it stand out from the crowd, and the many individual touches. Forget the bland, corporate identity beloved of so many big-chain hotels with their identical carpets and furniture, whether you’re in Berlin or Bombay. Every Kempinski hotel is proud to be different. “We don’t want to lose our European standards but we blend each hotel with the local culture”. “Each one has a soul. When you stay here, you will experience a different soul to the Kempinski Soma Bay, for example, because every property has its own unique style.” This extends to having different slogans for each hotel. For the Kempinski Garden City, it is “Simple things done beautifully”, a philosophy which extends right through the hotel. It’s about pure understated luxury rather than in-your-face ostentation – from the stylish Cigar Lounge to the exquisite food in restaurants like Osmanly and Blue. The innovative Blue has already caused a stir in Cairo, taking the Kempinski determination to please its guests to new heights by getting rid of menus and instead offering to cook up anything you want. Throw in the free extras that many other hotels charge for like free internet in your room, complimentary soft drinks, butler service and a pillow concierge – and you can see why Kempinski has the reputation it has.

Technology is now enabling companies to replace their traditional face-to-face interactions via a technology interface using the Internet. How dependent is Kempinski Group - on using online distribution? Have you witnessed positive results, knowing that it cuts costs, attracts affluent customers and lessens dependency on more traditional and expensive channels? And finally, is measuring frequency in website visits a good way to measure guest loyalty?
Kempinski Nile Hotel invests generously on the online campaigns like Search Engines Marketing campaigns and spreading Kempinski’s banner on the highranked web sites. So we increase our presence on the spider. Regarding the results, and based on our analytical tools, we have achieved a satisfying revenue through our official website, pretty good for a brand new hotel with a new website. Also we give the third parties web sites and their strong presence on the spider, we can’t deny the rule that the third parties website are playing now in the hospitality. Kempinski Nile Hotel has joined recently “Leading Hotels of the World, Ltd” to become the first and the member in Cairo of this prestigious luxury hospitality organization that represents the world’s finest hotels and resorts. Kempinski Hotels and resorts are part of the Global Hotel Alliance; they offer a collection of upscale and luxury regional hotel brands from across the world. Definitely the website traffic measures the great feed back and interaction from our guests, based on our analytical reports, 69.4 % of our website visitors are new visitors, and the rest are reparative visitors.

The growth of social media (face book, my space, twitter) in the last five years has been staggering, and will continue to grow. This new form of communication and feedback is good news for consumers, but in your opinion, how can it be used to create positive opportunities’ for operators as opposed to being a threat? Keeping in mind that the transparency of social media will undeniably highlight any inconsistencies in the delivery of the brand, and will provide a quick and enriching communication channel between brand and consumer…
We are a firm believers in the rule social media marketing could play positively to support our business, but Social media can take many different forms but we do focus of Communication, Collaboration/authority building , Multimedia and Reviews. We listen to our guests’ problems and we discuss with honesty with clear policies to all our fans and guests.

Are you convinced that the most successful brands will be those that embrace and learn to harness social media rather than underestimate or fight against its influence?
I think social media is one of the most valuable marketing tools. Kempinski Nile Hotel believes in the importance of feeding these media channels with updates and news. We are proud to be one of the few hotels with an ecommerce department with a main target of optimizing these important channels for maximum exposure. You simply cannot fight against such an important influence. You simply embrace it and make the most out of it.

The Kempinski Nile Hotel is in fact the first boutique hotel in Cairo to delicately combine classic European flair with local Egyptian charm. What is the key to attracting boomers and appealing to their mind-set and need for experiential travel?
This hotel is an outstanding addition to Cairo, a vibrant city with a rich array of cultural options for our guests. This is made even more evident by Kempinski Nile Hotel being recognized as the first Leading Hotel in the city. Designed as a boutique property to offer all the services and luxury facilities of a global chain while retaining the personal charm of a boutique hotel, the Kempinski Nile delivers all the expected accoutrements of a premier hotel. Every room and suite is elegantly appointed, and all feature butler service, as well as air-conditioning, mini-bar with soft drinks, bathrobe and luxury amenities, Jacuzzi bath, safe that can accommodate a laptop, plus free tea and coffee-making facilities. In addition to flexible check-in and check-out times without additional charges, the hotel also offers every technology aimed at providing instant connections for both pleasure and work. There’s a plasma television offering a comprehensive selection of cable channels, a modem data port and a CD player in every room as well as Wi-Fi and high-speed Internet plus more than 200 home videos on demand free of charge. And, to suit the 24-hour modern world, services such as concierge, fitness facilities, laundry, dry-cleaning and security are available round the clock, as well as meals, snacks and beverages delivered promptly to your room, whatever the time. However, given the range of dining and bar facilities at the Kempinski Nile Hotel, guests are more often tempted to dine around, sampling jazz and tapas, Oriental spreads or chocolate treats. Starting with the latter, the Chocolate Lounge is a modern twist on the traditional lounge, a chic venue that serves up an extensive range of teas and coffees from around the world, while enticing guests to linger longer and indulge in chocolate in all its forms. For a no menu menu dining at breakfast, lunch and dinner, The Blue is the place to be, specializing in international cuisine with fish and meat displays to tempt the taste buds as well as a ‘Roast of the Day’ when hearty fare is called for. Appetites are called for too at the Osmanly, a traditional Ottoman themed restaurant showcasing the very best of Turkish, cuisine as well as local touches such as the welcome hand washing ceremony. Alternative late evening rendezvous include the Jazz Bar for smooth sounds and smoother cocktails as well as the tempting tapas bar or The Roof, a kick-back and relax al fresco venue where guests can soak up the sounds of the city - other options also include Floor Ten, a private suite featuring an elegant dining room, library, cigar lounge and terrace. But, after a tour of all the F & B options, many guests will appreciate the distinctive charms of the Kempinski Nile Hotel spa, where pampering is on the menu from the team of trained specialists – the facility includes four treatment rooms, Jacuzzi and sauna, relaxation suites, fitness room and a rooftop pool.

On a more personal note – what do you value most in life?
Dignity and Passion in whatever you choose to do