The article was published at the Sunday edition of Proto Thema newspaper, on the 11th of March 2018.
Panagiotis Pantazopoulos gives a...bonus to hospitality
Panagiotis Pantazopoulos is the representative of the second generation of hoteliers who takes his own independent route in the industry and who first introduced a loyalty program for a privileged stay.
Within six years he created his own affilliation based on important cooperations with four and five-star hotels.
By Dimitris Markopoulos
It could not be different. When you have grown up in a family of hoteliers and you know firsthand the potential and the special dynamics of the Greek tourism, it is certain that you will soon end up dealing with what many call the "heavy industry of the country". Panagiotis Pantazopoulos, the founder and Managing Director of HIP Hospitality and Trésor Hotels & Resorts, two companies that are already enjoying their own success, was born and raised in the tourism industry. In the sector that every summer makes up for our country and helps to stimulate our GDP.
The influence of his family, his academic studies specializing in hotel management at the internationally recognized Ecole Hoteliere de Lausanne in Switzerland, in combination with his work experience abroad, helped him go on in the market. Watching the trends of the industry, he turned to hospitality counseling. The new hot sector of tourism in our country with huge prospect and challenges.
HIP Hospitality is a company that was founded in 2012 and now offers its services to 13 luxury hotels, having already completed more than 70 projects. Within HIP's portfolio, there are hotels such as the Poseidonion Grand Hotel, the Ios Palace Hotel & Spa, the Elysium Boutique Hotel & Spa, the Orabel Suites and the brand-new luxury hotel in Kos, Lango Design Hotel & Spa, which has been discussed a lot lately. As Mr. Pantazopoulos points out, "HIP Hospitality services can cover the whole range of operating a hotel, from feasibility studies and fund-finding, support during the construction and equipment, pre-opening services, budget management, HR recruitment, sales management, marketing and public relations. All these actions are not taken for granted by the very busy Greek hoteliers who cannot manage to do everything." And he adds: "Being committed to maximize the value of a property, our company reflects the knowledge and experience of its executives into innovative solutions that lead to viable and profitable hotel units. The company is responsible for a total of 470 employees and works with over 520 travel agencies around the world for the 612 rooms it manages. " In turn, the second company of Panagiotis Pantazopoulos, Trésor Hotels & Resorts, has 35 hotel-members in 28 Greek destinations, and has achieved to be a remarkable and competitive network of independent boutique 4 and 5 star hotels in our country.
As the founder of the affiliation says, "The hotel-members of Trésor Hotels & Resorts are characterized as treasures of stay and all have in common characteristics such as the luxurious services, the eco-friendly policy, the unique design and the traditional architecture." We should not forget that the emerging trend in hotels and hospitality is this kind of boutique hotels.
Bonus of stay
Trésor Hotels & Resorts has been active in the hospitality sector since 2012 and provides quality promotion services to its hotel-members, highlighting their unique features and enhancing their branding. At the same time, the network offers experiences to its hotel guests, rewarding them with privileges during their stay, through the T-Club, the loyalty program of Trésor Hotels & Resorts, which already has 7,500 registered members. Mr. Pantazopoulos is considered to be one of the emerging players in the tourist market and the first who brings out the reward program in the level of consulting. It is hardly surprising to see how Greek hotel complexes and hotel management companies have been moving so far. "This is a new trend, in an effort to homogenize the offering of services and giving value to the client," says Mr. Pantazopoulos.
