An Expansion strategy of international hotel companies: Management contract and research in Antalya region

SUMMARY Management Contract is the most common operating way in the hospitality sector. Big chains having a worldwide trademark image and independent hospitality companies operating in their own country or region, prefer management contracts in order to enable a rapid and less risky development. The most important advantage that this system provides to the property owner is that the property is operated in a professional way. Hospitality sector, being a service sector itself, has different features apart from the service sector. Experience and knowledge is the leading factor in the management, marketing and other concepts. Thus, individuals and institutions, not having any tourism experience and aiming optimum usage and marketing of the property, turns over the management of the property by making management contracts. The chain company, names the property, establishes the managerial board, chooses the employees and trains them, establishes the managing system, includes the property in the central reservation systems; briefly, it does everything needed for the management of the property. In addition to this, it also gives consultancy service in the construction stage in external and internal architecture, illumination, room design, arrangement of food and beverage areas. Not so extensive but also independent firms provide most of those services. Management Contracts were first introduced to Turkish hospitality sector in the mid 1980s. In this master's thesis how this system works in Turkey, in which conditions those contracts are made, what the content of the contracts are, how it is applied in the world and what the advantages and disadvantages are, shall be put forward. This study includes international chains operating in Antalya region. The reason of choosing Antalya region as the research area is that there are many international chains in this region. Also another reason is that the accesibility to the properties let the questionnaire to be made by the face to face form. VI