2nd Int’l Hospitality Forum: Investments and New Technologies Take Center Stage

Lefteris Nitis, Sales Manager, After Sales & Customer Service Manager at Ideal Standard; Georgios Kametas, Sector Head, Business Banking, Retail Banking Segments at the National Bank of Greece; Alexandros Vassilikos, HCH President; Nikos Choundalakis, President and CEO of Forum SA; Thanasis Giallouris, VP of Forum SA.

The investment opportunities in the Greek hospitality sector, its connection with new technologies and the home sharing phenomenon will be among the issues to be discussed during the 2nd International Hospitality Forum, which will take place on November 24 at the Metropolitan Expo in Athens.

Organized by the Hellenic Chamber of Hotels (HCH), the forum will take place within the framework of the Xenia 2018 hospitality trade show that will run November 24-26.

“The next five years in the Greek hospitality industry will be very different compared to the previous five years. It is our obligation to continue improving the hospitality services offered,” HCH President Alexandros Vassilikos told reporters during a press conference on Tuesday.

“Things are rapidly changing in the tourism industry with the use of new technologies… and this is something that directly affects the hospitality product; the sales and marketing strategy of hotels and the overall traveling experience of guests,” he added.

The 2^nd International Hospitality Forum will host Greek and foreign experts from the tourism industry, the academic community and consulting companies, who will speak on the following issues:

• Investments in the hotel sector: Trends and obstacles,
• Data is the new oil: Using data to enhance the travelers’ experience and increase hotel revenue,
• Getting digital: The new digital channels for the sale and distribution of the hotel product,
• Sharing economy: What can hotels learn from the competition of short-term rentals.

Among the forum’s speakers are Sani/Ikos Group CEO Andreas Andreadis; Oaktree Capital Management Senior Advisor Spyros Spyropoulos; Astir Palace Vouliagmeni CEO Stelios Koutsivitis; AccorHotels COO Italy and Greece Renzo Iorio; Google Industry Head for Travel Rairidh Roberts, and 25 Hours Hotels Co-founder Stephan Gerthard.

The 2^nd International Hospitality Forum will also feature a lineup of tourism startup companies. The HCH will cover the cost of a stand, providing startups with the opportunity to present their products and services.

Xenia 2018 in numbers

Organized by Forum SA, Xenia 2018 has attracted the participation of 550 exhibitors that will cover a total space of 50,000 m2. According to Forum SA Vice President Thanassis Gialouris, the exhibition will also host 150 hosted buyers, 500 international buyers – many from the Cypriot and Israeli market – as well as 40,000 visitors from the tourism industry.

Parallel events will include the Xenia Digi Hotel conference, which will feature more than 40 experts from the fields of digital technologies and hospitality; and The Hotel Megatrends/Talks event, which will include speeches and special presentations by tourism experts.

The Greek Travel Pages (GTP) is a Media Partner to the Xenia 2018 exhibition.