Mr. Panagiotis Pantazopoulos graduated from the Ecole Hoteliere de Lausanne and he is the founder and the main shareholder of Trésor Hotels & Resorts. He manages the hotel-members of Tresor’s hip collection alongside his own hotel units.

 

Share with us the secret of ideal holidays in Greece

The most important factor when we are on holiday is to be calm and be willing to have a good time. We should not behave like we have bought the hotel room. We rent the room and undoubtedly we have researched of our choice of destination and accommodation prior to booking. Greece is a country that offers such a wide range of options that it would be difficult not to find what we are seeking for. The key of success is to know where to look in order to discover our dream holiday destination.

 

Which do you believe are the islands that will attract most visitors for summer 2012? Do people still choose among the well known islands or might they be starting to discover smaller and unknown ones which behold a distinct personality?  

It has not yet become clear of how visitors will behave for the year 2012. One thing for certain, is the fact that visitors are interested in discovering new and alternative destinations. Without doubt, the cost of transportation to those alternative destinations must be kept in mind because very often sea lines and airlines monopolize a destination and as a result, unfortunately, the cost of transportation may be greater than the cost of accommodation.  

 

Most professionals of the tourist sector, quote that this is going to be a tough year. What is your perception as regards to that? How has the market treated you so far and what do you thing we should do in order to mobilize tourism?

Things should be better for 2012 than for previous years but a string of negative publicity and the bad financial situation of the country, have had a negative outcome and increased the uncertainly of visitors who had initially placed Greece at the top of their list. I do believe that we have seen the worst though and things could only get better hopefully.

It was misfortunate that the national elections took place during a crucial period for bookings and hence tourists from abroad ended up selecting alternative and possibly neighboring destinations, even though coming to Greece was their initial will. Internally, the decrease in salaries and the increase of taxation has caused to the inevitable shrink of the available holiday budget. As a result, hoteliers of 4* and 5 * units proceeded to dramatic and humiliating decreases of their prices, making the 2* and 3* hotels absolutely non viable for the summer season of 2012.

Although Trésor Hotels & Resorts is still considered a new entry taking careful steps, we have already managed to summon up 15 hotel-members of 4 and 5 star qualities under our umbrella, which furthermore, are located in the most popular destinations of Greece. The creation of affiliations represents a very strong trend in the tourism sector and it has become more and more evident that tourists worldwide do prefer to make a booking with hotels that belong to and are represented by a greater and collective institution.

Without doubt, Greece has always been considered as one of the top destinations on an international scale. But...it is an undeniable fact that its dramatic chute needs a certain period of time to be forgotten and to be overcome. All we can do is to be patient and keep calm, both on a personal but on a collective level as well, until the national issues have been properly addressed and solved.

 

Talk to us about Trésor and what it does. How did you decide to take the risk of occupying your strengths and your capital in a sector that has been negatively affected from the national crisis?

Trésor Hotels & Resorts constitutes the first Greek membership collection of independent 4 and 5 star boutique hotels. It selects “treasure” hotels which convey a special ‘persona’ and particular decorative designs, located in both winter and summer destinations throughoutGreece. Those hotels also prioritize authentic hospitality and ensure exceptional quality of services at the best possible price for the visitor.

Furthermore, Trésor Hotels & Resorts assimilates a range of marketing and supportive services which notoriously portray each hotel-member through exceptionally smart tips pertaining to their location, via our daily updated Blog which one can read at our user-friendly website: www.tresorhotels.com/en/. This way, we provide our clients with crucial information which will further enable them to “treasure hunt” for an authentic and complete experience when booking with one of Τrésor’s hotel – members.

The initiation of the operations of Trésor Hotels & Resorts did not happen from one day to the next. In essence, Trésor was greatly geared up by its well organized team of specialists from the hotel and tourist industry and substantially supported by its journalists and marketeers. And although it may sound as an “elusive dream” for a country in crisis, then it would suffice to mention that the whole project was indeed planned and based upon realistic and careful considerations of today’s needs and expectations of contemporary consumers of the Greek tourist product, as well as, according to the international trend of affiliations.

During this particular period in time, the induction of an independent hotel to a collection of handpicked boutique ‘treasures’ became the imperative factor. This is exactly what Trésor Hotels & Resorts guarantees. A collective and dynamically supported representation of its hotel-members to the Greek and International tourist markets alike.      

 

Talk to us about the competitive advantages of being a member of the loyalty scheme of Trésor.

Trésor Hotels & Resorts has already set up and operates the T Club which is a loyalty scheme that rewards repeating guests of Trésor’s hotel-members. Our crucial aim was to guarantee that the firm’s customers will enjoy a plethora of advantages, a set of exquisite personalized services, competitive prices and a unique selection of tailor-made packages in order to have a complete and lifestyle experience through an unforgettable getaway in a top Greek destination. All hotel-members have appointed a “T Person” who will make sure that our client’s stay will be unforgettable from the minute of booking till their departure.   

Members of the T Club will be the first that we will inform about special offers and last- minute bookings for supremely advantageous getaways. Members receive updated information about a plethora of interesting things to see and do at their selected destination, as well as an array of exclusive services, privileges and discounts at their selected hotel-member. There are various levels of loyalty. Basically, the more you book with us the more the advantages will be which can even qualify for free nights at your selected hotel-member.     

 

* For the original source of the article press here 

Source: www.protothema.gr

Interview by : Zoe Dimitriou

 

From: Eva Kanellopoulos

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