Abdulhakim Bilgili, who had started his career in Kahramanmaraş in 1952, has been active in various commercial investments since 1958 in İstanbul. After his 32 years of experience, he was active in textile investments through establishing Arsan Textile Group and construction and tourism sector through the establishment of Hayat Tourism Co. in 06.27.1984. The management of the 'Radisson SAS Conference & Airport Hotel' , whose construction was completed by Hayat Tourism Co., has been executed since 2000 by Hayat Hotel Management Co., which was was established in 1998 as a subsidiary of Hayat Tourism Co.

Besides the commercial investments, Bilgili Holding is also working in the field of promoting the local culture. In order for the Akaretler Row Houses Project, which is located at one of the signature venues of İstanbul, to come alive, Bilgili Holding bought all the shares of the Akarnet Tourism Investment Co which had been owned by Türkiye Garanti Bankası A.Ş. previously. In December 2005, the name of Akarnet Tourism Investment Co. has been changed to Akaretler Tourism Investment Co. after Akarnet has been acquired by Bilgili Holding. Completely sticking to the historical authenticity. The restoration of The Akaretler Row Houses, which is a first degree historical venue, has been completed in a two year period of time.

W Hotel, which is under one of the biggest hotel chains, Starwood Hotels & Resorts Group, chose Akaretler Row Houses as its first luxury hotel venue in Europe, and was opened by Akaretler Hotel Management Co. under the name of W Istanbul as of 04.01.2008. Furthermore, Akaretler Tourism Investment Co. manages the operation of the numerous monoshops of the worldwide famous brands, restaurants, offices, residences, and a car park included in the Project.