DUBLIN, Ohio—As someone who has held many food-and-beverage positions and has extensive experience in the field, it only made sense for Orcun Turkay, GM at the AC Hotel Columbus Dublin, to bring his expertise to his new role.
Vaso, the rooftop restaurant and bar concept at the AC Hotel Columbus Dublin, was thought up by a team of F&B consultants in Los Angeles with some input from Turkay, he said.
“Almost my entire background is all food and beverage, so when we (started building) this property, we were working on concepts, especially for the rooftop bar,” he said.
Coming up with the concept of serving up shareable dishes and cocktails infused with a Spanish flare at Vaso was a group effort, he said, as were decisions about the restaurant’s decor.
Before landing his position with Shaner Hotel Group as the GM at the AC Dublin, Turkay worked in various F&B director roles at hotels such as the Buffalo Marriott Harborcenter, as well as at W Hotel properties in Istanbul and Washington, D.C.
And from a young age, hospitality was in his core.
The AC Hotel Columbus Dublin in Dublin, Ohio. (Photo: AC Hotel Columbus Dublin)
“I studied hotel management in college,” he said. “Back then, before I even went to college, in high school back home, which I am from Turkey, many of (the) high schools are specialized in hospitality and hotel management, so that’s how I started.”
Turkay’s first F&B job was as a busboy at a steakhouse in Turkey, he said, and his first “real hotel job” was at the front desk of a hotel in Colonial Williamsburg, Virginia.
Demand drivers
The AC Dublin sees a lot of corporate business from large companies such as Wendy’s, which has its headquarters nearby.
“We have a lot of corporate headquarters here,” Turkay said. “We have a lot of pharmaceutical companies as well.”
Successful operations
Turkay said the key to keeping things running smoothly at his hotel has been hiring the right people and providing them with the right tools to do well in their roles.
“If you’re working with the right people and you have the right people in place … if you provide them with the right training and they feel appreciated, that takes care of a lot of (potential problems),” he said.
He added that he spends a lot of his time making sure his employees are taken care of and are set up for success.
“That’s our motto as a company: if you take care of your employees, they take care of the guest for you,” he said.