This page is for anyone opening a hotel, guesthouse or apart hotel in Türkiye and thinking about a website for it. The rules come from the regulation on workplace opening and operating licences and Tourism Incentive Law No. 2634.
01Two documents: the licence and the tourism certificate
- Workplace opening and operating licence. From the municipality. Because hotels count as workplaces that need a special type of building, the building must already have its occupancy permit. Since a December 2025 change, accommodation also needs a fire brigade report.
- Tourism operation certificate. Under Article 5 of the Tourism Incentive Law, licensed accommodation businesses must get a tourism operation certificate from the Ministry of Culture and Tourism within six months of the licence date.
The six months run from the licence date. Plan the ministry application as soon as you have the licence.
02Conditions in the regulation
- Rooms. Every unit has a toilet, bathroom and washbasin. Bedrooms get daylight. No kitchen or kitchenette in a bedroom.
- Heating and water. Central heating or air conditioning, and hot and cold water at all times.
- Lift. If guests have to go up more than three floors, a guest lift is needed. Buildings protected as cultural property are exempt.
- Staff. In places with twenty rooms or more, separate changing areas, showers and toilets for women and men on the staff. In smaller places, a toilet and washbasin for staff.
By type
- Hotel. At least five rooms, and a lobby with reception and a waiting area.
- Guesthouse (pansiyon). At least three and at most twenty-five rooms.
- Apart hotel. At least ten units, each with a bedroom and a sitting room with a kitchen.
- Motel. At least ten rooms, a lobby, a breakfast room and parking for eighty per cent of the rooms.
03What a hotel website needs
- Direct booking. A booking request with dates, number of guests and room type, on WhatsApp or by form. You pay commission for guests from booking sites, and none for guests from your own site.
- Room types. Real photos of each room type, bed layout, size and what is in the room.
- Location. Map, distance from the airport and main sights, transport and parking.
- House rules. Check-in and check-out times, cancellation terms, breakfast, pets.
- In your guests' language. If you host foreign guests, a full set of pages in their language. How to do it is in our article on a second language.
04Finding guests
- Open a Google Business Profile. The steps are in our Google Business Profile guide.
- If you have Russian-speaking guests, add Yandex too. The steps are in How to Add Your Business to Yandex Maps.
- Ask every guest for a review. With a short message at check-out. How to do it is in How to Get More Google Reviews.
- Point past guests to your site. So they write to you directly next time.
