ArtDayMe : Alireza Tabesh, CEO of Hegta, the Social Security Tourism Holding Company :  To understand Homa, perhaps one must first understand Iran.

Iran is a land of extraordinary geographical diversity: from the Persian Gulf in the south to Khorasan in the east; from the gardens and cultural heritage of Shiraz to the dynamism of Tehran; and from the warmth of Bandar Abbas to the lush landscapes of northern Iran. It is a country where travel is not merely about moving from one city to another. Every destination tells a story of Iran’s culture, history, way of life and identity.

Homa was born in such a land, and for 54 years it has been telling part of that story through the language of hospitality.

Today, the Homa family has a presence in Tehran, Shiraz, Mashhad and Bandar Abbas, and I hope that in the future Lahijan and other destinations across Iran will also join this family. But for us, Homa is more than a collection of hotels.

Homa is a living entity—with a memory, a personality, experience and an identity.

Each Homa hotel carries within it something of the character of the city in which it is located. And what connects these hotels is not simply a brand name; it is a shared vision of Iranian hospitality.

Perhaps that is why the concept of Homa Garden Hotels is particularly important to the future of the brand.

In Iranian culture, a garden is more than nature. It is part of our collective memory and way of life. The combination of architecture, nature, tranquility, local culture, cuisine and art can create an experience that goes beyond simply providing accommodation.

This is where the concept of “belonging” becomes meaningful for a brand: knowing where it is, where it has come from, and how it relates to the people and the land in which it operates.

Homa was born in Iran. It must understand Iran, and it must tell Iran’s story.

Perhaps the best way to understand this is to look at the people who have passed through Homa’s doors over the past 54 years.

The Homa Group has welcomed far more than conventional hotel guests. International travelers and tourism industry professionals; diplomats and political and economic delegations; business delegations and entrepreneurs; pilots and flight crews; physicians; artists; media professionals; farmers; veterans of the industry and retirees; representatives of different faiths; and generations of Iranians have each become part of this story.

In Mashhad, many guests remember experiencing the spiritual journey of pilgrimage alongside Homa’s hospitality.

In Homa’s halls and rooms, meetings have taken place, conversations have unfolded, contracts and agreements have been signed, and sometimes a business partnership, a journey or a friendship has begun in these very spaces.

Alongside all of this, the hotels’ artworks, the pianos whose music has resonated through their lobbies for years, photographs, menus, ceremonies, and the memories of staff and guests each preserve a part of the history of this brand.

If every Homa guest has taken a memory away with them, Homa, too, has retained a fragment of every guest’s memory.

This may be Homa’s most valuable asset—not merely its buildings and rooms, but the trust, experience, memory and relationships it has built with people over more than five decades.

From this perspective, Homa’s 54th anniversary is not simply a date on the calendar for us.

It is a moment to pause and ask:

What will we do with this legacy?

The second century of Homa’s existence will begin in the year 1451 in the Iranian Solar Hijri calendar. More than four decades still separate us from that milestone. Yet enduring brands build their future starting today.

Therefore, my question is not how many hotels Homa will have over the coming years.

The more important question is: 

What identity will Homa have in its second century?

Our vision at Hegta, the Social Security Tourism Holding Company, is that Homa should evolve from a hotel company into an Iranian hospitality company—a company in which hotels are only one component, while the guest experience lies at the heart of everything it does.

This transformation must begin by building on Homa’s existing assets and human capital—not by forgetting the past, but by turning 54 years of experience into a competitive advantage for the future.

For this reason, we are pursuing Homa’s path forward in several directions:

• Developing the concept of Homa Garden Hotels as part of the brand’s DNA;

• Establishing the Homa School of Hospitality in Tehran and Kish to train a new generation of hospitality professionals;

• Creating the Homa Museum to document and tell the story of the brand’s institutional memory and to preserve documents, artworks, photographs, recordings and the stories of people whose lives have become intertwined with Homa;

• Developing new models of collaboration, including franchising, management contracts and strategic partnerships;

• Strengthening marketing and digital marketing, and making intelligent use of technology to better understand guests and design more personalized experiences;

• Expanding a diverse range of journeys and tours—from pilgrimage and health tourism to history, culture, nature and authentic local experiences across Iran;

• Strengthening the corporate and business markets and leveraging Homa’s capacity to host events and economic delegations;

• Developing Homa Catering and introducing Iranian cuisine and culinary culture as an integral part of the hospitality experience;

• Expanding health and wellness tourism and the concept of well-being, while extending the geographical reach of the brand, including to Lahijan and other destinations that can open a new chapter in Homa’s story.

Yet these initiatives serve a larger objective: strengthening a genuine tourism value chain.

Homa can create synergies with the other capabilities of the Social Security Tourism Holding Company and its partner organizations—from transportation and travel to accommodation, experiences, food, education and tourism services.

The objective is not simply to manage a better hotel. The objective is to build an Iranian hospitality brand for the future.

And at the center of all these plans remains one thing: people.

No hospitality industry has meaning without its people.

Homa’s true capital is the people who have served for decades, accumulated experience, welcomed guests and kept this name alive.

Therefore, Homa’s development is impossible without the development of its human capital.

We must preserve the experience of previous generations while, at the same time, giving the younger generation the opportunity to write the next chapter of this story.

This legacy does not belong to a single manager or a particular management era.

It belongs to the wider Social Security family—to the millions of people who have worked over the years and whose capital and hopes for the future are, in part, invested in these organizations.

At Hegta, the Social Security Tourism Holding Company, we do not consider ourselves the owners of this legacy. We are its trustees—the custodians of the brand and the stewards of the larger family to whom this asset belongs.

Our responsibility is to pass on what we have received to the next generation in a healthier, stronger and more valuable form.

Fifty-four years have passed.

We are proud of the past, we learn from its experiences, and we preserve its memories. But we do not intend to remain in the past.

We want Homa to continue to be a place where people meet, make decisions, travel, learn, rest and create memories.

A place where an international guest can experience a part of Iran alongside their stay.

A place where an Iranian family can take home a lasting memory.

And a place where a young Iranian can discover a professional future in the hospitality industry.

Homa must know its roots, preserve its identity, understand its times and build its future.

Its 54th anniversary is not the end of a journey.

It is a point from which to begin a major decision: to preserve the legacy that has been built, and to build the legacy that has yet to be created.

This is our vision for Homa at the Social Security Tourism Holding Company.

Fifty-four years of memories are behind us.

And the second century is still ahead.

The story of Homa continues.