Kleo Minibar is a company supplying minibar and room equipment to the accommodation, medical, transportation and food sectors. Active activities in the domestic and foreign markets are carried out by its corporate sales offices in Antalya and Istanbul. These products are produced by Aikon Company in its facilities in Antalya. It consists of the most competent staff with 22 years of experience in the market. KLEO carrying out joint sales activities with more than 40 companies throughout the country realizes projects with many companies abroad. To make an assessment, 2021 passed as a recovery period for us. Exports increased, renovations and new investments in the domestic market increased. The Middle East, Eastern Europe and North Africa were the regions we exported the most during the pandemic period. However, investment appetite is still limited. There is a cautious approach. The cash payment pressure in the raw material market and the extension in the procurement process affected us negatively although turnover increased. Chronic problems in the supply of raw materials and semi-finished products in the white goods sector still continue. Unfortunately, we have also witnessed the abused approaches in the domestic market like supply problems in the global market. For this reason, our sales area has narrowed and it still continues in this way.

We produce two different cooling systems as Absorber and Inverter compressors

To talk about our products for accommodation facilities; we supply minibars with glass and block doors from 20 liters to 60 liters. We produce two different cooling systems as Absorber and Inverter compressors. Minibar is considered the first in new hotel projects due to the size of the furniture, but it is the last product group to be purchased due to its portability. Therefore, the most common situation we face in the purchasing process is investor habits. If the investor uses our product, he first requests a price from purchasing professional or officials of management office. We talk about innovations and product upgrades in this regard. Our sales channels are very different in city hotels and resort hotels. Hotel technical and administrative managers negotiate and finalize purchasing in city hotels, while the hotel investor decides directly in resort hotels. The biggest problem especially in resort hotels is the lack of the opportunity to hold meetings with new investors to explain the benefits of the products, which can get ahead of the price. Unfortunately, resort investors have direct pricing approaches rather than examining technical details and usage benefits.

Two projects that we will exhibit at ANFAS Fair are 100 percent domestic

Inverter minibar is a minibar system that we introduced to the market for the first time in the world as known by the market. We will also break new grounds in the world and in Turkey during 2022. One of them is a system what we call Realtime Data Logger that will facilitate the controls of business technical service and Housekeeper staff directly. These systems will be able to monitor the technical control and data of the minibar from a computer, tablet or mobile phone. This is the first in the world... Studies have been conducted for two years and we come to the end. The other is a 40-liter freezer with a block door that can work as a two-way. It is a product that you can use as a freezer at -23 degrees, or as a minibar at +2/+8 intervals. These two projects that we will exhibit at ANFAS Fair are 100 percent domestic. I think this year will be our 20th year at the ANFAS Fair. We attend this fair every year. The fair is a meeting point for both professionals working with us and new investors. We attach great importance to Fairs as they are platforms where we tell about our innovations.

The equipment used personally and directly by guests in a room has gained more significance during the pandemic. Stating that additional applications for equipment should be considered to be put in use due to the constant change of users, Evrim Gür, the Business Development Manager at KLEO Minibar, said more about equipment choices during the pandemic.

Out with the old and in with the new, or maintenance

The economic lifespan of minibars varies between 9 to11 years. For cosmetic (product appearance), minibars should be appealing; cleaning and maintenance frequency should be increased. If partial wear and tear occurs, technical departments in hotels should ask manufacturer for replacement of the product or request a re-work offer for maintenance of all minibars at the manufacturer’s factory. If the minibars are old, they are supposed to be replaced.

Right product choice

Minibars and mini refrigerators are two different concepts. The former is designed for personal use, while the latter meets the demands of multiple and variable users. The most important distinction that separates mini bars from mini refrigerators is the freezer. Minibars do not have freezers installed to secure hygiene and easy cleaning. By doing so, a handy and hygienic area without any protrusions or grooves is created. It may be advisable to avoid freezers during the pandemic. If the previous user has left the food waste on the freezer to freeze it or forget all about it there, that refrigerator should very well be disinfected thoroughly.

As for product design, it is important for it to be easy to clean. Fewer grooves or protrusions, both inside and outside of the product, make the product easy to use and clean. Therefore, complicated designs should be avoided.

Performance assessment

Minibars, in recent years, function more than a piece of equipment that only contain drinks offered by hotels. The guests also keep food, insulin, medicine, breast milk and baby supplies they bring with them in the minibars during their stay.

Minibars are the only tools that run around the clock in the rooms. It is one of the equipment that guides visitors to form an idea about the hotel they stay, which is why, the cleaner and more efficient a minibar is, the more satisfied the guest is. That’s for certain. It is also important to choose the right cooling system as it must directly meet varied climatic conditions of our country. Minibars come in 3 different cooling systems; absorbent, Peltier and compressors. Absorption and Peltier systems provide cooling in return for heating; therefore, heat emission in the cabinet is excessive. For this reason, it is essential that one evaluate the cooling and electricity consumption performances in the real environment rather than catalog performances put through tests at 20 degrees for ultimate cooling performance. The most recent minibar trend in the world is the one equipped with a compressor.

May 2021 - hotel restaurant & hi-tech

The Hotel Show Dubai opened its doors for the 20th time at the Dubai World Trade Center between 17 and 19 September 2019 with the participation of more than 70 Turkish companies. Turkey’s leading minibar and refrigerator manufacturer KLEO MINIBAR, having over 50 years of experience in the industry, 60 thousand square meters of production space and economic, with more than 350 employees, attended the fair with its ergonomic and ecological solutions.

The company continues its exports to more than 50 countries with its two separate factories, production and sales of more than 200 thousand units.

With the launch of Inverter Minibar which was produced for the first time in the world, the company became the center of attention of the visitors.

Arslan: “We produced the world’s first Inverter Minibar”

Yüksel Arslan, KLEO MiniBar Foreign Trade Manager, gave the following information about the new investment:

“Our renovation projects are in demand as well as the existing projects in Dubai. We have launched the Inverter Minibar, a first in the sector, at this fair. The EMEA and in particular the UAE are the regions where we negotiate and trade the most. In Dubai, renewal projects are in demand as well as existing projects.” Inverter Compressor is produced in Turkey and this new product is presented to international tourism professionals under a national identity.

“Inverter technology is used in many areas (washing machine, dishwasher, etc.) that started in air conditioners. However, the KLEO Inverter MiniBar application was first exhibited at The Hotel Show 2019 after a 2 years of R&D study. This product, which is in A+++ category, is 30% more efficient than a normal compressor and is designed for our MiniBar product.”

 “It was a pleasure to meet tourism professionals again”

Yüksel Arslan stated that The Hotel Show Dubai is hosting one of the 5-6 important meetings in the sector. “The exhibitor and visitor profile in the fair was satisfactory and the business meetings were more professional. Although the impact of the global recession was felt, it was a pleasure to meet tourism professionals again.” 

Arslan also thanked the Istanbul Chamber of Commerce for all their support as well as logistic and stand design for their participation in the fair.

“We planned a good launch process for the Inverter Minibar”

Yüksel Arslan said, “As KLEO MiniBar, we continue to increase our export trend. We see that the companies we export to do not work with stock. Rather, we adopt a strategy that will minimize project-based and operational costs. We reshape our sales strategies accordingly. We are planning to start a good launch process for the Inverter Minibar."

OCTOBER 2019 - hotel restaurant & hi-tech