About

Some books change you.

I read Big Red Tub to my son Nicholas almost a thousand times. A tub that starts ordinary. Then one by one, unexpected guests arrive. It gets gloriously chaotic. It travels the world twice. And somehow, impossibly, everyone finds their way home.

That story never left me. Neither did what it taught me.

The best things in hospitality work exactly the same way. You start with something simple. You invite the right people in. Things get complicated, beautiful, and occasionally overwhelming. And if you have built it right, everyone finds their way home.

About Burak Ipekci

For more than three decades, Burak Ipekci has operated at the intersection of hospitality, human connection, and global leadership.

As General Secretary of Les Clefs d’Or International, the world’s most prestigious concierge organisation, he held the rare privilege of helping shape the direction of an entire profession across more than 50 countries, making him the second longest-serving General Secretary in the organisation’s history.

That is not a title. That is a vantage point very few people have ever held.

Organisations that thrive in hospitality are never the ones with the best product alone. They are the ones who understand that relationships are infrastructure.

What three decades at the highest level of global hospitality makes clear is this: trust is a competitive advantage. The way you make people feel is ultimately your only durable differentiator.

That is what BigRedTub Insights exists to unlock.

How We Work

Based between London and New York, working globally, BigRedTub Insights partners with hospitality brands, destinations, and service-led organisations who are ready to grow, reposition, or simply do things better.

Our clients describe working with Burak as meticulous, forthcoming, and, more often than not, fun.

We do not sell frameworks. We bring thirty years of hard-won relationships, operational clarity, and the kind of honest insight that only comes from having actually done the work at the highest level.

What We Believe

Relationship capital is one of the most powerful and underutilised assets in business.

Relationships create opportunities. Trust creates access. Access creates growth.

This is not networking. It is the deliberate cultivation of trust, credibility, and meaningful connections over time. This philosophy sits at the heart of everything we do.

The tub is big. There is room.

If you are curious about what that could mean for your organisation, we would love to have a conversation.