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Greek Hoteliers Get the ‘Whole Package’ at GTP Island 2016
Posted On 12 Dec 2016
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By Nikos Krinis
Doors of communication were opened between hoteliers and leading hospitality consultants and travel agencies at the GTP Island at the fourth edition of the 100% Hotel Show, the Greek exhibition addressed especially to hoteliers.
An initiative of the Greek Travel Pages (GTP), the GTP Island sees to strengthen the communication between the country’s hoteliers and local travel agents and tour operators.
The GTP Island this year took a step further and also hosted companies offering hospitality consulting and technology tips, aiming this way to cover all the needs of hotel owners in search of promotional solutions for their properties and ideas on how to grow their business.
The companies hosted at the GTP Island this year included hospitality consulting experts Aqua Vista Hotels, Spyrou Philoxenia, Butterfly Stories; travel agencies Argo Travel Group, Ask2Travel; tech company Travelotopos; and villa agent Blueground.
“Every year, the Greek Travel Pages brings its 40-plus year expertise and experience to GTP Island with the ultimate goal to serve as a go-between, bringing together hoteliers who want to learn more and experts who can offer the know-how,” said Maria Theofanopoulou, president and CEO of GTP|DANAE Group.
GTP’s initiative was well received by visiting hoteliers attending the 100% Hotel Show, according to the companies participating in the initiative. All hoteliers had free access to GTP Island through pre-arranged meetings and a number of walk-in appointments.
Sofia Matzourani, Business Development Manager: “These days it is an imperative need for hoteliers to use additional services, because we find that more and more people have an income of some sort and decide to invest in hotel construction, without however mastering the ‘art’ of the hotel business. This automatically means that they should seek hotel management and technology companies to support their units. I believe GTP’s concept, which offered hoteliers the opportunity to be informed on how they can enhance their business and possibly engage in a bilateral fruitful cooperation, really enhances it efforts in providing very useful information to hotel owners.”
John Grigoras, Deputy Sales and Marketing Manager: “As far as companies such as ours are concerned — active in the hotel management business — GTP has reached its goal. The ‘Island’ covers the basic needs of hoteliers on what they are looking for to go forward… I also think that the ‘Island’s’ informal setup is a success as it offers the possibility to have a more open communication with the professionals, receive more direct information from them and what exactly they are seeking.”
Elisavet Kouta, Founder, CEO: “The GTP Island’s concept this year I believe assisted all professionals involved with hotels, villas and restaurants, especially on the consulting side. These professionals came to the exhibition with an idea and needed tips to implement it, and this is where GTP stepped in and brought them closer to its partners… Attending the GTP Island for my company — Butterfly Stories — was a very useful experience. Butterfly Stories is the first company that is engaged in management for catering. The company focuses on providing consulting on all the services a restaurant would need right from the beginning: from the mere idea, to the business plan, to the perfect menu, to its marketing plan.”
Angelos Samolis, Sales Manager: “The island’s concept this year, to include more professionals, was very functional, because visiting hoteliers — not having anything specific in mind — at any time could find and receive information on all of the necessary services all in one spot… The more you open your perspective and open to various networks, surely you can do better sales. I believe that all services provided this year at the GTP Island gave much more added value to all participants and they will certainly have much better results in future sales.”
Dennis Fellidis, Sales Representative: “I believe that the GTP island has hit its target by 110 percent. The two previous organizations helped develop interpersonal relations between travel agents and hoteliers. This has been achieved again this year, but with the difference that it offers the ‘whole package’: it offers hotels B2B meetings with travel agents, technology tips from experts and hotel consulting.”
Maria Aivalioti, Sales Manager: “I think the ‘Island’ this year gave a holistic solution to hoteliers and provided a platform for expert companies to offer the know how for them to boost the promotion of their units. Over the last two to three years we all have noticed that the travel experience of the customer is a leading trend in tourism. Holidaymakers will now not only book a bed and breakfast, but will ‘book’ an experience, an ‘experience package’. And this solution is available to hoteliers through all of the executives that GTP has invited to the ‘Island’.”
The 100% Hotel Show ran this year during November 25-28 at the MEC exhibition center in Peania, eastern Attica.
The Greek Travel Pages (GTP) was a strategic communication sponsor of the 100% Hotel Show 2016.
