November 2014

Hello!

It is November 14th as I start writing this and it is one of those dramatic Kalkan days …… constant thunder and lightening, gale force winds and every single road in Kalkan turned into a river with nature’s aim to take everything in it’s path down to the sea!  I always love Kalkan but love her even more when she is in this mood.   Fortunately there are no holiday makers left so no one to apologise to and no need to feel embarrassed about the mess Kalkan is in after a storm.

What a beautiful season 2014 was, I almost did not want it to end.

The Korsan Suites ran without a hitch with Memduh back in charge.  In fact we had guests returning this year just BECAUSE Memduh was back.

The Korsan Apartments were as good as ever with Yasar and his team running the show.  The apartments are always so popular with returning guests that we have almost no room for newcomers.  That said, we did welcome many new guests to add to the list of ‘new regulars’!  A point of interest to be proud of is that Korsan Apartments is one of the very few accommodation in Turkey to have a fully guaranteed contract with TUI.  Yeni Korsan followers will be pleased to hear that we will be improving the bathrooms this winter!

The restaurants also had a brilliant record breaking season.  The teams in both restaurants were extremely happy with their bonuses, having  beaten every target I set through the summer.  The nature of the job means a few staff issues at the peak of the season but we are all due to reunite in April and here’s to next season being even better.  For those who haven’t heard, Yusuf is now a dad to a new baby girl named Meryem, Mum and baby are both doing well … congratulations.

Korsan villa rentals had another great year.  I monitor closely the return business which continues to rise steadily, this year was great and next year, well ‘wow’! and we are only in mid November.

Villa maintenance, well this, sadly, is the section of our business where we do have a high rate of staff turnover.  It is cheaper for us to have a high turnover but that is not the way we work.  Happy and reliable staff is always a priority and simply the only way I can have so much on the go at the same time.  I have new ideas for the maintenance team next year addressing issues with gratuities, a rota for meeting and greeting guests, regular staff meetings and a new bonus scheme.

I am happy to announce a couple of new additions to the Korsan portfolio.  The Ivy House (my first development project) has new owners and they are keen to rent out this listed historical stone house in the old town.  The Ivy House is ideal for those who love the buzz and personality of the old Kalkan.  Korsan also has a new acquisition in the old town, Minik Korsan.  The Minik Korsan is just 3 doors up behind the Fish Terrace, it is a traditional 2 bedroom Kalkan house with wooden balconies, a lovely private walled garden and views across the roof tops to the sea from the little roof terrace.  We will be offering the Minik for rentals this year but it will have to wait until next winter for  it’s Korsan ‘makeover’ as we have too much else on for this winter.

Everyone tells me I should keep the blog short and sweet ! hence I will tell you about property next time and of course the exciting cold press olive oil venture !!

Keep well.

Uluc

DSC_0404DSC_0403Korsan Minik

Ivy House 1The Ivy House

Korsan Ltd. is a family run business established in Kalkan in 1979. We were one of the first tourism related enterprises in Kalkan and now have over 40 years experience in the fields of tourism, catering and property development.