Five minutes away from the main square of the capital. Close to important museums and cultural sites. At the entrance of the historic center of Athens. The hotel Titans it does not just catch the pulse of the city, it is part of Athenian culture.
A few months ago, in the middle of summer, the hotel changed hands. It now belongs to the investment group London + Regional Properties, a company that controls 800 rooms in our country and about 17.000 thousand in the world. The new general manager of Titania, Aphrodite Arvanitis, told us that the British investment group has been working in this market for a long time. "Investors have singled out this part of the city. And many saw it before as the negotiation had started years ago ".
We met Mrs. Arvanitis on the 11th floor of the historic University building, in the heart of the city. We were at the award-winning restaurant Olive Garden and, against the backdrop of panoramic views across Athens, he analyzed the vision of the new Titania. We went back up to two decades. We talked about the difficult years that the capital experienced, we demarcated today and talked about the plans that are coming.
A hotel like Titania opens several fronts. And with his tourists-visitors but also with himself. Perhaps the biggest bet has to do with the Athenians. "We want to remind Athenians in which city they live. Many times we forget it. To revive our love for Athens ", says Mrs. Arvaniti to newsbeast.gr.
- Titania changed hands a while ago and belongs to London & Regional Properties. What is the vision of the great British group for the historic hotel located in the heart of the capital?
"London & Regional Properties is a large English company, which invests in real estate and a large part of its investments are in hotels. He believes in tourism and hotels. It has about 90 hotels around the world. As for Titania, it stood out from the beginning. We are talking about an emblematic hotel. A real hotel in the heart of the city. They considered it a very good basis to start their investments.
At the same time, we are in an area of Athens that after 2010 went through some difficult times. Investors singled out this part of the city. And they saw it before many as the negotiation had started years ago. Historical Titania can have a very positive development and they are now part of that development.
They believe in this, have invested a lot of money and have a plan to invest extra in the hotel to upgrade the space they need. So, this in itself, gives a lot of power to the area, because a hotel is part of the city. They believe in the dynamics of both Athens and this point, because this market is targeted. "They want to invest in this part of the city, in the historic center of the city."
- How different will a visitor who had come to the hotel six months ago and visit it again in half or a year from today experience?
"A large part of the hotel rooms are already renovated. In the coming months, all three floors that have not been renovated will be renovated. Interventions will be made in the restaurant, in the hotel lobby, in the conference room. The difference will be in the aesthetics. We want the hotel to represent the trends of the time. That is, to be, through the aesthetics that he will have and the ways that he will use his spaces, ahead of his time. To adapt to the change of the city and the world but also to look ahead. To innovate where it can. So visitors will see a very friendly environment to Athenians, a hotel that we want to be in touch with the city. "Titania is part of the city."
- Titania really has an impressive reception area. It has an award-winning restaurant and high-class dishes. It is located in the heart of the city, two steps from all the beauties of Athens. Some of them are the heritage of decades, some creations of previous years. Let's get to today… How does a hotel perceive investing in technology?
"Whatever technology offers and we can use it in our hotel, we will do it. And we're not just talking about Wi-Fi, Internet uses, TVs or mobile apps. We also think about corporate and social responsibility. Whatever we do, we want it to have a positive impact on the external environment as well. The way we handle waste, the way we handle energy. We can save energy. We have a plan and we want to be one of the most supportive hotels in the city, maybe most of all. We respect people and the environment. "
- The kitchen of Olive Garden, in combination with its location, is a trump card for Titania. The Greek identity of the dishes, with the raw materials and products coming from different parts of Greece, is a strategic move. Do you intend to change something in the taste journey you offer?
- Conference tourism and social events. In what areas do you think Titania is superior to the competition?
"Its location is very important. It is in the center of the capital. So, for an event it is one of the best places its visitors can come. The Metro is next door. We have parking for 200 places, something very important. If you are a foreigner, the historic center is here. And that's an extra incentive. There is a large conference room on the 1st floor of the hotel, where we are preparing changes in the rearrangement of the space, so that it can be more functional and technologically more modern, in order to serve simpler workshops and more complex conferences. And we have our restaurant, Olive Garden, on the 11th floor, which is very important. After a conference or event, you can dine with your guests, in such a beautiful view, with very good food and service. This is also an important comparative advantage. "
- You have extensive experience in the field, both in the Greek travel industry and abroad. Can we say that Athens is a city break?
"Athens is a city break. The definition of city break, 100%. Having worked for the last many years in big hotels in the capital, I know the dynamics it has. What is needed is configuration of store hours. When you have a city break, the shops can not close at 5 in the afternoon and on Sundays they can not open at all. Maybe we touch on other issues there, but the issue of shops in the center, I do not refer to all of Athens, I think they should be open, because they bring more work to everyone. And as a city break customer, I want that. Also, in the city break clients I would include some business meetings, or incentive trips that will take place from Friday to Sunday and can take place in Athens. In addition, we need a larger conference center. An investment should be made in this piece. It has been said for years, but it has not been done. We lag behind in this as a city, while we have all the dynamics and know-how in hotels. Another piece that will help is the way a city is advertised through its events. A big event is organized in Athens, money is spent for it. "While it could bring people, if everyone found out in time, there is delayed information and in the end it is not used as much as it could".
- Is it easy to become a tourist in your city? What role could Titania play in cultivating this mentality?
- Is there a substantial communication between the hotel companies of the capital and the municipality of Athens? Are ideas, reflections, exchanges of views discussed at the same table?
"Communication with the previous leadership of the municipality was little and I would say difficult. Things were happening and there was no information. And we are talking about central hotels. We are not in an isolated place. We are in the city center. The communication was not good, nor was it to state our demands. All this was done with enough pressure. Other times it worked, other times it didn't. I believe that there could be a part of the Municipal Authority that could gather with a frequency - I do not say continuously - the big hotels located in the city center and have a follow up, a follow-up that this happened, that this will done. In the big issues, not in the individual problems. These are solved by everyone alone or many times we discuss and solve them among ourselves. There are, however, some big issues, cleanliness, lighting, big events that are going to take place and affect in many ways both positively and negatively the city that we should have known. "Communication was not good."
- Now…
"Now, although it is very early of course, I feel with a first discussion and communication that there was that the municipal authority is more positive. More open and in a mood especially in the city center to give great emphasis and to solve some issues which - I understand, some are solved and others are not solved or require a lot of time. And I think that important issues are lighting and cleanliness. These are two things that the whole city needs, not just where we are. Indeed, if there is a will, these issues are resolved. I have the feeling that now there is a greater will to make them ".
- Every season the data show that tourism achieves one record after another. 2018 was the best year with international arrivals reaching 33 million tourists. How many of them remain in Athens?
"The average stay in Athens is lower than in the islands. One and a half to two days. The visitor will usually come before going to the islands or inland, or on his return, or before and after. On the other hand, city break customers will come in the months outside of summer. At this point I would like to "steal" a conversation that Mr. Retsos, the president of SETE, said at the conference. We had 33 million visitors, we do not want others. We want to raise the quality. Having a lot of people is important. In Greece, it is worthwhile to have a quality of tourists who will leave the corresponding income. Tourism for the country is a source of income. So, we want to work, and I think that is the direction of all the players, in the quality of both the tourists and the product. In order to be able to have a higher range of customers, who will be able to spend more money, we must offer to upgrade our product. It is what we said before, that you want to offer him a very good hotel, a very good restaurant, to go to an exhibition, everything to be very nice, he can not walk on dirty sidewalks. This must go hand in hand. So, let us also bring our product, from the time it will come until the time it leaves at this level, because it will bring us others later ".
- It is logical for business groups and large hotels to follow with particular interest the political developments in Greece. What is the feeling you had during the SYRIZA-ANEL government period and what is it today?
"What is very important now is the lifting of capital controls. It is important both on the part of the hotelier and on the part of the one who wants to come and invest. I believe that there is a more positive atmosphere at the moment and a greater confidence. Of course, this trust must be won by the current government, doing things. I have a feeling that things are moving faster. Immobility does not help, it just accumulates issues. It does not solve them. At some point the economy has to move. To initiate the procedures. Something will either happen or it will not happen. It cannot be in an intermediate state, because it is not politically convenient. This is bad. It seems that things have become more agile. The tax, from the announcements that have been made, for 2020, for the companies is lower, which is very important. I think the announcement that has not been made, which I would expect and as a professional I believe should be made, is also the issue of taxation on the payroll of employees. Because this is a heavy piece. "An employer wants to support employees who are better off, who work really well and can't, because taxation at all levels is huge."
- When does a guest feel that he did not throw his money at the hotel?
"When you are sincere in the expectation you have created for him. Titania first of all has a very good service and a very warm "welcome" for the customers who come. That is, we have standards by which we operate, but we do not have a standard behavior. I believe that in a business, as you treat the people who work, so will they treat the customers accordingly. So, we try to maintain this continuity - as much as we can, in the best way - because it is something that makes a big difference. One will find a nice hotel, in many cities, in many places. It's not the building itself, but the important thing is to feel good.
To feel that they are waiting for him, that they are happy to be there, that they appreciate that he is coming and will leave his money in this hotel, which was his choice. So, let us all try to be above the expectation he has. One is the hospitality, the other is the features of the hotel. We do not want to beautify something, we must show what we are. If we are a good four star hotel, we must be a good four star hotel. We must not say that we are six stars and we are four. We have to be in our category, which has to do with the standards and the service we offer them. That is, with the size of the rooms, with different characteristics.
The price should also have a correspondence with what the customer will get. That is, to have given him the characteristics of the room, if you have room service, you must have really good room service. Make him wait for what he will find and find something even better.
- Since we are talking about expectations, it is impossible for Olive Garden not to come up for discussion again. Eleven floors above the sidewalk of the University, at number 52, there is a restaurant-bar that raises the bar even higher. Athens looks more beautiful, while it has not done anything to change. It's the same city we just walked into…
- Do you remember any big change that has taken place in Greek tourism in recent years? Something that really changed the data…
"I remember two things. One is the change that took place in Athens with the Olympic Games, because before 2000 I was in the field of hotels and in the field of sales and marketing I have many performances and experience from those years. Going outside Greece, when you said "Athens" their faces were sour. That changed as we went to the Olympics and kept that expression high until 2008. All this time, Athens had really changed, for the better, its image. Her brand name was very high. From 2008, 2009, this started to turn for Athens. The episodes, everything that happened, until 2012, maybe 2013, was a very difficult period. We were not a city left in the past. We were a beautiful city being destroyed. That was the feeling. As if someone has set a goal to destroy this beautiful image.
In this "ruined environment", from the end of '12 to the beginning of '13, a new generation began to enter and create a new identity. Ethnic restaurants, bars, nightlife in a part of the center that did not have it until then. That was a big change. All these roads, Kolokotroni, Karagiorgi, Serbia, were for two to two and a half years abandoned landscapes. As if there has been a war. A new blood started coming in and a businessman who was also a younger businessman and they said “what do I have to lose? In the midst of disaster I will do something good. " And many did. And they succeeded and it all goes on. This started to bring a turn to the city and then things calmed down and politics, society started to find another balance and helped to restore this image.
Institutions and politicians did not help at all. That is, the change was brought by ordinary people, it was brought by all of us who are in tourism. A State that takes so much of the money we produce when it does not do what it's supposed to help. What should I do with everything we say on paper? I do not care. The stranger will come and see the Stadiou buildings in this condition. Devaluation does not begin either from abroad or from us humans. By the State. We receive devaluation, we also devalue…
- If you could, as if by magic, adopt something from abroad and bring it to Titania, what or what would it be?
"I do not know. Because we do this every day. We do this "espionage" every day. In Greece we know things well, but we have not put them in a context so that we can transfer this knowledge. We have to give and take. It is easier to get it, because it is more defined and standardized. We do not have that much. So, if we can make this framework, even in our own hotel, we will be able to apply know-how more easily. The tourism sector in Greece has evolved but we need a better structure. Take into account international standards and better communicate the ideas and innovations we have. "Touristically we may have more to give than to receive."