Interview – Takis Papaspyrou: Hospitality is Unlimited with Modus & Amplio

“We listen, we learn, we present and we deliver,” says Takis Papaspyrou, when asked how exactly his company, Modus & Amplio, provides “unlimited hospitality” solutions to hotel owners and investors.

Active in the hospitality management and consulting sector, Modus & Amplio is a company counting 12 years of operation with a team of professionals that boast some 25 years of experience in the industry.

“Modus & Amplio was founded to provide bespoke hospitality services to hotel owners, investors and lenders… We have the ability to increase operational results and we are very experienced in hotel branding and feasibility studies,” Papaspyrou, who himself counts some 30 years of experience, tells GTP Headlines.

“Our aim is to become a leading hospitality consulting and management company in Greece, a company that attracts valuable investors, loyal guests, dedicated and passionate people.”

Takis Papaspyrou, Founder of Modus & Amplio

Having become valuable partners to over 30 hoteliers and investors, Modus & Amplio promotes the values and individual identity of each one of the properties in its portfolio.

“We work very close with our collaborators, producing measurable results and not just reports,” Papaspyrou underlines.

Modus & Amplio has a plethora of partnerships in unique destinations, such as the Radisson Blu Park in Athens; the Poseidonion Grand Hotel in Spetses; the Nikopolis Hotel in Thessaloniki; The Manna Forest Retreat in Vitina; the San Antonio resort and the Grand Mediterraneo Resort & Spa on Corfu; the Monsieur Didot in Athens; the Ikies on the island of Santorini and many more.

In this interview, Papaspyrou introduces the services provided by Modus & Amplio, presents the company’s portfolio and gives his expert opinion on the investment climate in Greece, as well as the challenges he sees in the hospitality industry.

GTP: Mr Papaspyrou, please share some career highlights with our readers.

Takis Papaspyrou: Thank you for giving me the opportunity to present M&A to your readers and followers. During my 30-year career in the hospitality field, I had the opportunity to meet important professionals, Hotel Owners and Investors and be part of many interesting and pioneering projects. Through the work of Modus & Amplio, with our assistance and support I was fortunate enough to see a lot of these dreams and visions come to life. Some highlights in my career were the cooperation with Accor Hotels, the introduction of the Radisson Blu Brand in the Greek Market for the first time, the Athens 2004 project with Aramark, the YES Hotels project, and of course the Modus & Amplio adventure over the last 12 years.

GTP: Please “introduce” Modus & Amplio to us. What exactly did you see missing from the hospitality market that you wanted to offer?

Takis Papaspyrou: Modus & Amplio was founded to provide bespoke hospitality services to hotel owners, investors and lenders. We enjoy working in new and existing projects, very close with our clients and we consider ourselves as partners, rather than a third-party collaborator.

GTP: What services does Modus & Amplio offer?

Takis Papaspyrou: We are able to provide “unlimited hospitality”, as our tagline describes. We are experts in hotel and resort openings, we have the ability to increase operational results, and we are very experienced in hotel branding and feasibility studies. Our consulting services are used by financial institutions and investors, as we are very experienced in spotting unique opportunities in the hospitality market.

GTP: What differentiates these services and your brand from other consulting and management companies? What would you say is Modus & Amplio’s unique selling point (USP)?

Takis Papaspyrou: Our USP is the personal attention to all details and our 24/7 availability to our clients, Hotel Owners and Investors. We work very close with our collaborators, producing measurable results and not just reports.
Our broad experience in many sectors of the industry, allows for our clients to enjoy a complete set of services.

GTP: Your company recently partnered with Ikies Santorini Hotel in Oia. How many partnerships does your portfolio count? Can you walk us through some other projects included in Modus & Amplio’s portfolio and inform us on what’s coming up in the future?

Takis Papaspyrou: Over the years we have partnered with more than 30 hotels and hotel projects in Greece, 15 of which are currently active in our portfolio. We expect to open 4 new hotels in 2020 and 4 more in 2021. We consider all our projects very important and we value very highly the trust of our clients.
Our 2020 portfolio consists of 12 hotel projects plus the following newest additions:
– The Rooster in Antiparos, a unique high-end Wellness & Lifestyle Resort
– Ikies Santorini, a superb property in Oia
– Ivis 4, a Boutique City hotel in Athens
– AKS Hotels Renovation in Porto Heli
– The Lynx Mountain Resort & Casino in Florina
– Monsieur Didot the Residence in Athens
Also, some of our upcoming hotel & resort projects for 2021 are in:
– Chios island, a 5-star Convention and Spa Resort
– Mykonos Island, 5-star Villas & Suites project
– Paros island, a 5-star Eco-resort
– The Peloponnese, a unique mountain resort
– Kefalonia, a Wellness and Lifestyle resort
– Corfu island, an all-inclusive 4-stars resort

GTP: In regard to Greek tourism, how do you see the sector progressing this year?

Takis Papaspyrou: We are very optimistic for all our resort hotels, as we had to proceed with stop sales actions, for 2020 season in some of them. We are concerned about the increase of rooms in Athens and we hope to be able to maintain occupancy rates to last year’s rates and increase ADR.

GTP: How do you find the tourism/hospitality investment climate in Greece? Is Greece an investment-friendly destination or are there issues that need to be addressed?

Takis Papaspyrou: We are not yet convinced that everything is perfect in Greece, there is still room for improvement. The investment climate looks better than previous years, but we need to act and solve a lot of issues. Regarding Athens, we have to find a fast and effective way to increase the AIA’s capacity, since it is a destination where you fly to. As the availability of rooms increases dramatically in Athens, the airport remains the only international gate to the city.
If the hotel rooms increase by 3-4.000 units, as expected, within the next 2 years, the supply of rooms will increase by 1.460.000 available room nights / annually. If we want to maintain an occupancy rate of 80% for the city, we need to welcome more than 2,5 million additional passengers to AIA.
The Greek resorts need to increase the length of their season, in order to be considered as worth investing properties in the near future. Today, global investors have many opportunities to receive a high ROI in Asia and the Americas and they are not willing to risk their capital in Greece, where bureaucracy and high taxes are still an obstacle.
Tourism infrastructure in many locations around Greece is outdated and underdeveloped. The government, tourism authorities, public and private marketing associations must work hard to improve the current infrastructure of the country. They must work with a dream, a vision and a long-term development plan with sustainability and respect to the environment in mind.
Some of today’s challenges can become growth opportunities, for most of the country’s regions, if we are willing to adapt to changing conditions and trends.

GTP: What would you say are the biggest challenges that you face in the hospitality industry?

Takis Papaspyrou: The hospitality industry is definitely one of the most volatile in the world. Tourism is seriously affected by economic, political, and social shifts.
The world economy is always a key factor for the hospitality industry. An economic crisis will have an enormous negative impact in tourism and travel.
Today we are experiencing a big crisis for the travel industry, due to the Coronavirus in China, for which we cannot yet estimate the final impact.
Hotels and resorts must work towards establishing better safety and security infrastructure for tourists and travelers, as the status of those issues in many countries are in question.
Hotel companies must review their services, improve their products, and invest in offering personalized products and services in all segments.
Tourism is one of the most taxed industries. The high, airline tickets and hotel room’s taxes are an example of how governments perceive those products. The tourism industry has to offer competitively priced products and services in order to balance out this situation.
Governments must understand that foreign visitors contribute a lot to the local economy via retail purchases, visits to attractions and points of interest, and many other tourism expenditures.

GTP: If you could pass on a message to the hospitality industry, what would it be?

Takis Papaspyrou: My message to our partners and employees is always the same simple quote: ‘Create a product that is differentiated and unique from the rest of the market, offer a valuable experience and in the same time respect your Guests and Employees and protect the Environment you live in and you live from.
If we realize that we are in this business to serve and satisfy our clientele, we will succeed over the long term and produce important financial results.

GTP: What’s next for Modus & Amplio? What are your future plans?

Takis Papaspyrou: Our plan is to maintain our partnerships with our valuable partners and grow our portfolio with new and exciting projects. Our plans are to offer additional services to our partner hotels soon and help improve the tourism map of Greece with our concepts and contribution.