P. Paleologos (HotelBrain): Greece is a superpower in tourism

Panos Paleologos, President and Founder of the HotelBrain Group, spoke at the 7th Delphi Economic Forum at the panel on “IMPROVING EDUCATION, SKILLS AND EMPLOYMENT IN TOURISM”. The discussion on Tourism Education was also attended by the Deputy Minister of Tourism, Ms. Sofia Zacharaki, the President of the Hotel Chamber of Greece, Mr. Alexandros Vasilikos and the Director of Experience and Communication of Crowne Plaza, Emmanuela Mousama.

“The model we are working on is human-based. The proof is that we are the largest human infrastructure with 120 people working at our headquarters in Athens – none of them in our hotels. We all know that the investment part in Greek hotels has “What we need to understand in recent years is that hotels have a significant difference from any other property: their added value is judged by their human resources.”

It is noted that HotelBrain is a company that operates 82 hotels in 34 Greek destinations, which makes it the largest hotelier in the country in terms of accommodation and one of the 7 largest in terms of turnover and human resources.

Then Mr. Paleologos He stressed: “I am glad that it is now clear that the part of education is different from that of education. In the field of education, Greek hotels have traditionally relied on the state. Public schools have so far lifted the burden of creating executives for Greek hotels. Although there are a number of private tourism schools, I believe that we will continue to bet on the state tourism education. This phrase may have been said for other reasons, but the way it was written in the consciousness of Greek society is disastrous.From my part I want to say to young people that the reward you receive by offering joy through work in tourism, is a great gift. You give joy and you take it back. This immediacy does not exist in any other branch “and he concluded:” Greece is a superpower in terms of tourism and all we have to do is understand it. ”

Mr. Paleologos also made special mention of the specificity of the tourism professions, saying: “What I want to emphasize is that seasonality completely changes things. Those who have seasonal hotels know that every year they start from the beginning with more than 40% of employees If there was a model based on which you could keep your employees all year and months when there is no demand to train them, it would be miraculous. and do seasonal workers indefinitely. ”

Finally, he concluded: “The need is one: to realize that human resources give surplus value, increase the income of hotel companies and therefore the state. If we understand that we must all invest in it, private sector, employees and the state, then we will In conclusion, this is the first year that – despite the problem of war that weighs on us at all levels – we believe that we will find normalcy again and I want to wish a good season to all hoteliers and hotel staff.

For her part Mr. Zacharaki He noted that we have received technical assistance from the European Commission in order to obtain a tourism academy, but that in the meantime we need to improve training conditions, as this is a dynamic process and we can not go on with four specialties. In fact, he noted that we need to change the mentality and catch the thread earlier, emphasizing the importance of school orientation from High School itself. He also announced developments regarding the training of the owners themselves, mainly small family hotels which, as he said, hold high the flag of hospitality especially in the region. With a special provision, the ministry collaborates with chambers and the region to target the needs of entrepreneurs.

Mr. Alexandros Vasilikos also highlighted the dynamics of tourism education. As he noted, in the hotel industry things are constantly evolving and a model can not follow you for 20 years, so executives must monitor developments. Mr. Vasilikos spoke about career opportunities in the field and very good jobs, while emphasizing that the sectoral contract of hotel employees was the only one that survived the ten-year economic crisis and is far above the general collective agreement, emphasizing that salaries are even higher, as defined by market, supply and demand.

In the assessment that the future of tourism should be oriented towards digital transformation and sustainability, Ms. Emmanuela Mousama, noting that training will be needed in these areas. He also pointed out the lack of a degree in tourism management that would help deal with the brain drain, so that one does not have to go abroad to get a bachelor.