Leaders of Europe’s luxury hospitality industry gathered in Athens, Greece for two days of learning, networking, and fun!
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| Barak Hirschowitz, President ILHA, Dimitris Tryfonopoulos, General Secretary of Greek National Tourism Organization, Sybil Hofmann, President, International Programs, Alpine Center, the Swiss Business School for Hotel & Tourism Management, Elena Sergeeva, Founder of Passion for Greece |
Prominent hospitality leaders and professionals came together at The Athens Ledra Hotel on May 19-20 to learn how to maximize their business, grow their hotel's revenue, and obtain a bigger-picture perspective to stay competitive.
Unlike your usual hospitality events, this groundbreaking summit presented on a wide range of subjects that businesses must address to remain competitive and up-to-date with the latest trends. From IT and Marketing, to Design, HR, Catering, and more!
The summit opened with Mr. Dimitris Tryfonopoulos, General Secretary of Greek National Tourism Organization, on behalf of the alternate Greek Minister of Tourism, Ms. Elena Kountoura; and was hosted by Elena Sergeeva, founder of several professional blogs including Passion for Greece and co-founder of Travel Bloggers Greece, the first travel bloggers network in the country.
The summit included 19 speakers, 12 information sessions, two workshops, and several networking opportunities.
“I would like to extend a special thanks to our hosts Eric and Sybill Hofmann of the Alpine Center, Swiss Business School for Hotel & Tourism Management. They worked round-the-clock to ensure the event’s success, along with the team at the Athens Ledra Hotel.” – Barak Hirschowitz, President, International Luxury Hotel Association.
Featured speakers included Peter Fulton – Group President of Europe, Middle East, Africa (EAME)/Southwest Asia and Executive Vice President at Hyatt Hotels Corporation – who presented “The Future of Food and Beverage in Luxury Hotels.” Hotels are sitting on empty restaurants, with guests flocking elsewhere to eat. The solution? Fulton advised hotels to let chefs be more creative as well as hire employees within the market they are trying to serve. For example, if your target is millennials, hotels should have more millennials on staff.
Georgios Drakopoulos – President & CEO of Tourism Generis, and Special Adviser to the Secretary General of the United Nations World Tourism Organization – spoke on “Managing Tourism in Times of Crisis.” Drakopoulos addressed the impact of a country’s economic turmoil and how Greece is struggling with talent shortage and lack of expertise as qualified professionals are leaving the country.
The chairman of Historic Hotels of Europe, Barbara Avdis, led “Historic Hotels: The Art of Understated Luxury & Emotional Experience.” Avdis focused on the role emotions play in creating memories and building relationships with guests. "As guardians of the stories and places of the past and hosts of the present, we treasure our History and wish to preserve it," she said.
Carina Svensen – Global Brand Director of Quorvus Collection – presented a highly engaging session on “The New Definition of Luxury”. The audience left with a better understanding of how to create memorable experiences for their guests, taking into consideration how modern luxury has experienced fundamental shifts and the need for hotels to adopt a more multicultural mindset.
This was the first time ILHA organized a European summit and we are proud to say it was a huge success. We look forward to hosting future conferences in Europe and beyond.
“An excellent well organized event which was covering a wide range of interesting subjects and for me it was very inspiring – I walked away with quite a few ideas!” – Thomas Pfitzer, Former CIO/CTO Aida & Costa Cruises
The International Luxury Hotel Association (ILHA) is the preeminent organization unifying, promoting and advancing the luxury hospitality industry. We are a global non-profit connecting hotel and travel professionals in more than 90 countries. The ILHA provides its members with the valuable resources and insights to ensure they stay competitive in the luxury hospitality industry.
