Four Seasons Hotel Baku, Azerbaijan

Four Seasons Tenure

• Since 2008
• First Four Seasons Assignment: Income Auditor, Four Seasons Hotel Istanbul at the Bosphorus

Employment History

• Four Seasons Hotel The Westcliff Johannesburg; Four Seasons Hotel Istanbul Sultanahmet; Four Seasons Hotel Istanbul at the Bosphorus

Education

• Akdeniz University, Antalya - Bachelor’s degree in Tourism and Hospitality Management

Birthplace

• Istanbul, Turkey

Languages Spoken

• Turkish and English

Özgür Sezercan began his career in hospitality in 1996 on the Mediterranean coast of Turkey in Antalya while he was still studying as a guest services agent. After his graduation he moved to US with Marriott as a front office management trainee in Boston, Massachusetts, at a 1,147-room hotel, followed by a stint in Swissotel as reception supervisor in Istanbul.

Özgür then ventured with Protel (Micros Fidelio) in Istanbul, specializing in installation and training of Opera PMS and Micros, and this is when he first experienced Four Seasons and got inspired by the values of the company. “At that moment I felt that Four Seasons is all about tailor-made experiences of guest stays, and it was what I wanted to pursue in my career," he says. After touring Turkey and the Middle East for couple of years his last project with Micros Fidelio was Four Seasons Hotel Sultanahmet.

He followed his heart and joined Four Seasons in 2008 as Income Auditor at Four Seasons Hotel Bosphorus, Istanbul and moved on to experience positions of Front Office to spend more time with guests: Night Manager, Duty Manager, Front Desk Manager, Front Office Manager and Assistant Director of Rooms for both properties in Istanbul.

Özgür knew that moving was essential for growth and that took him on his first international assignment to Four Seasons Hotel The Westcliff Johannesburg as Director of Rooms in 2017 and was promoted there to Hotel Manager and now he has come to Four Seasons Hotel Baku.

During his time in Johannesburg, Özgür was able to move the dial on aspects related to guest experience, and had a proven track record of motivating and aligning the teams towards a common goal. “I always knew that our people are the key to our success.” he says. Four Seasons Hotel The Westcliff was awarded 5-star rating by Forbes Travel Guide in 2020.

Being an experienced hotel management professional with extensive financial and operational management skills and close to 30 years of experience in hospitality industry, Özgür is a graduate of Hotel and Tourism Management from Akdeniz University in Antalya. He is married to Basak, whose heritage is from Nakhchivan, Azerbaijan, which creates another special connection with Azerbaijan for Özgür Sezercan.

At his free time, Özgür loves spending time with his children Asya and Aras while being an avid traveller and diving into different cultures and history. He is also a big supporter of Besiktas soccer team from Istanbul.