Locals are being squeezed out from the coast: relocators from the Russian Federation have “sat out” hotel service

– My husband is a bartender in the local “five-star”, – the Russian wife of a Turkish husband, who has been permanently residing in Antalya for the 6th year, gives the most vivid example. – His salary is 7 thousand lira per month plus tips, which are almost non-existent lately, the guests also have not the best times to give out for tea. And the rent of the simplest housing in the Antalya region is from 6 thousand liras and more. It’s good that we have our own house.

– But where does the relocants from the Russian Federation?

– Despite the fact that it was they who raised the prices. The junior staff of the hotel – maids, canteen cleaners, cook assistants, laborers – mostly from villages not on the coast, but from the outback. And their work starts at 5-6 in the morning, you won’t run into a house. Previously, they rented a modest apartment near the hotel, but now they cannot afford it, the rent is more expensive than their salary. And they still have a family to feed, so they quit.

We look at the official reports of Turkish realtors: prices for rental housing in general in Turkey as of autumn increased by 184.6% compared to the autumn of last year, and in Antalya and its environs – by 235.8%.

– Why such growth? – we are interested in a Russian-speaking realtor working in Antalya.

– The influx of our relocants. They all arrive, they need to live somewhere, and not all areas are allowed to foreigners. The Turks also have commerce in their blood, so all the owners, who have even the most modest corners in the areas allowed for relocators, immediately raised their prices. And since the main influx of Russians is on the Riviera, then the main price increase is there. Which drove out local tenants.

– But they could give discounts to their own!

– I’m telling you, the Turks themselves are very commercial people. Why should they rent cheaper than their own, if you can rent more expensively to someone else?!

Indeed, but then why does the Turkish tourism industry, even at the official level, cry that hoteliers are left without the lowest paid, but in fact the most vital for the hotel staff of workers “by hand”, because this concept includes cleaning, repairing, washing dishes and sanitary and hygienic treatment of places common use, and these are not only toilets, as we used to think, but also places where food is prepared, swimming pools, spa areas, saunas and hammams, and so on.

“The big five-star hotels, where everything is inclusive, suffer the most from this,” the owner of a small “three-ruble note” in Side shares. – For me, for example, my whole family works in the hotel. The daughters are on duty at the reception, the son is the chief administrator, the uncle is the chef in the restaurant. They also remove their own, from distant relatives. And if they had problems with housing, I would have settled them directly at the hotel without any problems, I would have given away some of the rooms. If there were two or three people in a room, then only a few rooms would be needed. But my hotel is small, and in five-star hotels the staff is huge. If they are all settled directly in the hotel, the guests will become indignant.

– Well, then the owners of such giants could pay the rent for their staff!

And they seem to be paying. Rather, it is, as it were, already included in the market wages of personnel of this qualification. Service along the coast is about the same, hoteliers have agreed among themselves to keep prices, otherwise chaos will come. And during the pandemic, everyone was ruined anyway, no one wants to pay extra for rent to employees.

– And what will these owners do? Will they clean the rooms themselves? Or will they bring their wives? Your press writes that the staff is dismissed directly in batches.

– I only know about one big hotel in Kemer, my relative works there. They were going to build a separate housing estate for the staff. But it is also an investment and time. I don’t know what they can do. So far, everyone is only complaining that the Russians have already squeezed out even the Turks themselves from the resort coast.

According to information from the owners of the “five-star” themselves, there is already panic in their “trade union”. Rumor has it that the authorities are preparing a new circular, according to which hotels with “understaffed” staff, according to the number of “stars”, will either reduce their star status (and hence prices) or close them altogether.

– And our relocants are complaining that you don’t have a job. Here, take them! – I advise the frustrated co-owner of a huge hotel in Kemer.

“The fact of the matter is that the circular says that poorly trained migrant workers” drop the status of hotels and damage the entire national tourism industry. Only qualified personnel may be hired.

– Sorry, but ours with higher educations have arrived to you!

– I’m afraid it won’t be enough to work in a Turkish hotel. Look at our instructions. The staff of the Turkish “five-star” is obliged to competently express themselves in at least three languages ​​- in Turkish, English and another European. The waiter takes an exam on the brands and vintages of the most popular wines. Serving requirements are updated every season, restaurant workers must follow this “fashion” themselves. This, of course, is not the first necessity, but a top-class hotel should not lag behind the level of competitors.

Meanwhile, as if eavesdropping on our conversation, the Turkish tourism industry, represented by one of its leading experts, officially stated: “Even if your hotel looks like a marble palace, but the staff inside does not know languages, the waiter does not know where to put the spoon and fork, and brand of wine he offers – you can’t provide five-star service. And this is a blow to the tourism sector!”