Turkish rector publishes complaint about hotel stay on official university website

Osman Bülent Zülfikar, Rector of Istanbul University, published a complaint about the hotel where he and his family had received "poor service" with an official announcement on the university's website.

Monday December 18 2023 11:44 am

Duvar English

The announcement where Istanbul University Rector Prof. Osman Bülent Zülfikar complained about the "reservation inconvenience" he experienced at a hotel in Konya province with his family has been published on the official website of the university under the "announcements" section.

The announcement is removed from the website after reactions.

The statement on Dec. 17 was published with the signature of the Istanbul University Directorate of Corporate Communications and with the title "Press Statement on Konya Dedeman Hotel.”

It was stated that although Zülfikar had made a reservation in advance, he and his family waited in line to enter their rooms for hours.

The rectorate did not mention any “official” reasons for the visit and the details of the text revealed that it was a personal visit, irrelevant to his position at the university.

In the statement, the university stated that the apology of the hotel management was not sufficient and added, "We expect the owner and management of the hotel to take measures within the framework of guest satisfaction rather than a dry apology and to exhibit an attitude that will compensate for this mistake before our Rector."

The text of the complaint on Dec. 18 was removed from the university's website after reactions on social media.

Immediately after President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Aug. 1 appointed Zülfikar as rector, he appointed his brother as chief advisor to the rector.