Temel AYGÜN

Vice Chairman of the Board, Titanic Hotels

Born in Giresun in 1960, he completed his primary, secondary and high school education in Giresun, starting work at a young age to support his family. In 1977 he moved to Germany to continue his higher education. In his first years there he both studied and worked as a commis in a restaurant in Berlin. Working in every department, including the kitchen, he rose from commis to manager of the restaurant and gained experience in gastronomy and the service industry.

In 1979, when he and his elder brother opened the first Turkish cuisine restaurant in Berlin, he had to leave his studies. With this 40-seat restaurant, opened in 1979, the family became the first to introduce döner to Europe — laying the foundations of AYG Group. In 1985 he returned to Giresun, Türkiye, and married; he has two sons. The same year he took charge of the family's businesses in Türkiye and for eight years successfully ran intercity transport and travel agency operations in Giresun. In 1993 he settled in Istanbul, where his journey in the hotel and accommodation sector began with the management of a 20-room boutique hotel the family acquired in Şişli. This laid the foundations of the Titanic Hotels group.

Today the group has 14 hotels in Antalya, Bodrum, Istanbul and Berlin, with a capacity of 4,570 rooms and 9,140 beds. It also offers golf tourism with the 27-hole Titanic Golf Club, built on 825 decares of land.

The group has run 17 restaurants in Berlin for many years. AYG Group's investments continue with a 600-room golf hotel in Belek, Antalya, and a 300-room city hotel project in Hamburg, Germany's largest port and trading city, scheduled to open in 2022.

Temel Aygün serves as Vice Chairman of the Board and Chairman of the Central Executive Committee of AYG Group, as well as Member of the Service Exporters' Association Committee of TİM (Turkish Exporters Assembly) and Vice President of the Talimhane Tourist Hoteliers, Operators and Investors Association.