It is very important to mention that 80% of our business at Hyatt Hotels in Baku is coming from oil-related sectors, be they oil companies or subcontractors servicing the oil & gas industry. If you want to break it down geographically it is 30-35% Americans, 30-35% British, 15% Turkish. The rest - Western Europe, Australia.

I understand that a great majority of your guests are businessmen, not tourists…

Absolutely! 99% of our guests are here for work. Foreign businessmen represent our largest group of visitors. The services we provide here are exclusively oriented towards businessmen's needs.

I suppose this differs significantly from some experience that you may have had in a more tourist-oriented area?

Yes. I worked in different hotels. I have been working for Hyatt for the past 15 years, but it in different countries: California, Istanbul… I came here in 1995 to open the original Hyatt i.e. Hyatt Regency Baku. Then, I left for Muscat, Oman and stayed there for about 2 ½ years. Our business mix in Muscat was almost 50-50 meaning 50% business and the other 50% leisure. It was a very interesting time in Muscat as we had to compete with business hotels as well as resorts. From Muscat I was sent to a short assignment to Belgrade, former Yugoslavia, and came back to Baku in late 2001.

Absolutely, Baku was so different from now in 1995. Baku has evolved dramatically over the past 7 years. It looks like it has undergone a non-stop progress.

The service that you provide to foreign visitors as well as for organizations seems to be pretty unique…

Yes, because we do our best to be the number one on the world market. The service that we provide is the same in all Hyatt Hotels worldwide. That is why people always recognize us wherever they are and they are very loyal to us. We want to provide a life style through our services, shops, offices, and aparments. The whole complex is like a little town inside a town. You won't find such a service if you go somewhere else. Besides, we provide a very high level of security here. People feel safe with us.

Do you collaborate with Government authorities or the Chamber of Commerce in order to attract foreign delegations, or do you market yourself through your own network?

We receive foreign delegations all the time. Recently we had the visit from the US Defense Secretary. We also have hosted two presidents - Mr. Shevarnadze and Kazakhstan President.
The Hyatt is a global company. We have a lot of representatives all around the world: in London, Frankfurt, New-York, Madrid, Paris. We have the same reservation system. Anyone can check the availability and make the reservation in Baku from any other city of the world.

In most high-standing hotels, conferences are the main source of income. How does it go in your hotel?

No, here, our main income is coming from the Rooms department. This department contributes to 65% of our total turnover. It is more than in many other cities worldwide. For instant, in Paris, the Rooms division and the Food & Beverages department share 50/50%. In Baku only 30 to 38% come from the Food & Beverages department.

8 years after the set up of your hotel, do you still intend to make any major investment?

Of course! We just spent half a million dollars on our new restaurant. We will serve Mediterranean food, emphasizing on Italian cuisine. We will also have the Spanish, French and other Mediterranean dishes. This is a very expensive project run by a British designer, but it was worth spending money on it. But the major investment that is comming up now is the refurbishing of the bedrooms at the Hyatt Regency. We need to change their look, replace the furniture. Those rooms definitely look too old-fashioned in comparison with those of the Park Hyatt.