The Iron Lady of The Marmara in New York

Eighty seven percent of those who stay in the hotel are willing to recommend it and fifty percent describe it as a ‘perfect’ place to stay; the Marmara Manhattan is located on the intersection of 2nd Avenue and 94th Streets and since its rooms are larger than the average hotel in New York, it is able to provide its customers a larger and more comfortable place to stay in.  The total sizes of the 109 rooms of this hotel is larger, in camparison, than the total of 334 hotel rooms in New York’s standards.  The one room units are 600-820 square feet, two rooms units are 1100 square feet, and the three rooms units are 1450 square feet large; the average size of the hotel rooms in New York ranges between 225 square feet and 265 square feet.

Although the Marmara Manhattan have opened its doors to short term stayers recently, eighty percent of its customers are long-timers.

The reason for each customer’s long stay is different than the other.  Among them, some are traveling for work or visiting the city while others stay here due to other reasons such as renovating their house; having a flood or fire in their house in New York; staying away from home during a divorce phase; coming to New York for receiving health care or for giving birth.

Some of the special promotions that the Hotel provided have been covered in the media many times and also been broadcasted national television channels such as ABC.  Two of such special promotions were designed for those who were to stay in the hotel due to a divorce or to give birth in the city.

SHE HAD STARTED HER CAREER 18 YEARS AGO
The General Director of the Marmara Manhattan Nur Ercan Magden is a 1986 graduate of Ankara Kolej and she has been a team member of the Marmara for 18 years.  Mentioning that their most important goal is to be able to show the hotel’s visitors the hospitality of Turkish culture, Magden says their hotel is full seventy percent throughout the year.

A graduate of the Hacettepe University’s English Language and Literature department, Magden also received acceptence for graduate school in a university in Los Angeles.  Magden had started his career 18 years ago a representative at the Marmara Hotel in Taksim, Istanbul and her position then was a temporary position for three weeks.

As the three weeks long position turned into a five years long work experience, Magden’s next stop in her career was with Kiska, a partner firm of the Marmara Group with headquarters in Ankara.  She was transferred to Kiska in order to develop new projects in the Southeastern provinces of Turkey under the framework of the Southeastern Anatolian Project and she opened the first ancient hotel of Urfa, Edassa, as the General Director.  She was then assigned to open the Marmara Bodrum.

Megden came to the US in the year of 2000 and for some time she did research to see possible job opportunities.  In the year 2003 she took the responsibility of marketing and sales of Marmara Manhattan in North and South America.  And in 2008 she began her position as the general director.  Concentrating more on online marketing of the hotel, Magden says they will continue to grow in New York.  The Kiska Group is planning to build a second hotel in the place of the seven building on Lexington Avenue, which were bought prior to being demolished.

COMMENTS ABOUT THE HOTEL
From Cinnaminson, New Jersey, Mort Rubinstein, MD says ‘This is a very nice suit having all of the necessary kitchen appliances from refrigirator to dishwasher and the pots.  It also has a large living room with a TV and a large bathroom.  You can have all of these for a very reasonable price in New York.  We will definitely come back and recommend it to others as well’

‘This hotel with its affordable prices and high quality of service, is a great opportunity for those traveling.  With our two young kids, we stayed in a large room of the Marmara.  The service was very friendly and geniune.  The hotel also has a great advantage of location since it’s close to the museums, Central Park, restaurants, and shopping centers’

‘I am a New Yorker who was born in New York and I now live in China.  I come to New York often to visit.  The Marmara is a real home for me since I am away from my house.  I can not stay in another city in New York.’