The Expansion of International Hotel Chains into Greece by Dr. Dimitris Koutoulas

Greece boasts one of the world’s largest and most mature hotel sectors with nearly 9,000 businesses and a 342,000-room capacity, yet it is among the least penetrated by international hotel brands. According to research completed in autumn 2005, only 3.4% of the country’s hotels (controlling 16.8% of the total room capacity) have an affiliation either with a Greek or an international brand, a situation that reflects the orientation of most accommodation businesses towards the package tour market and their close co-operation with tour operators.

Global brands, such as IHG’s InterContinental and Holiday Inn, Accor’s Club Med, Sofitel and Novotel, Hilton, Starwood’s Luxury Collection as well as Marriott and Hyatt, have established a limited presence, with each one of these brands having up to four hotels in Greece. A comparatively large share has been secured by hotel brands directly managed or affiliated with the major European tour operators such as the predominantly all-inclusive resort hotels of Robinson Club, Magic Life, Club alltoura, Calimera, LTI and Iberostar.

More specifically, tour operator-controlled brands claim one third of all branded hotels in Greece accounting for 84 hotels with 18,700 rooms (5.5% of total Greek hotel room capacity). A good part of these accommodations operate on an all-inclusive basis. The German travel conglomerate TUI is dominating this hotel segment by having five of its twelve hotel brands operating in the country.

The Presence of International Hotel Brands in Greece

There are 95 Greek hotels bearing an international brand (2005 data – see Table 1). Their cumulative inventory is 19,116 rooms, or 5.6% of the country’s total hotel capacity. Of the 26 international brands having a presence in Greece, 13 are owned or affiliated with tour operators, thus being oriented mainly towards the package tour traveller. Most of these hotels predominantly operate on an all-inclusive basis.

The international brands controlling more than 1,000 rooms in Greece are Iberostar, Club Med, Club alltoura, Holiday Club, Magic Life, Sofitel and Best Western, the latter having 22 member hotels in Greece.

Several hotels presently in the development phase will carry an international flag. These projects include a Soneva resort operated by Six Senses on the island of Milos (Six Senses recently entered the Greek market by opening a Six Senses Spa on Crete), a Banyan Tree resort in Pylos and a Mandarin Oriental resort in Western Peloponnese. Hyatt is expected to manage the hotel of the Casino Mont Parnes complex near Athens, presently under renovation.

Hotels Operated Under Tour Operator Brands

The four largest tour operators of Germany, namely TUI, Thomas Cook, Rewe and Alltours, as well as UK-based MyTravel have a presence in the Greek resort hotel market through several of their partly or fully owned hotel brands.

Among the brands represented in Greece is TUI’s Robinson Club with three resorts, Magic Life with four resorts and Paladien with two resorts, Thomas Cook’s Iberostar with eleven resorts, Rewe’s Calimera with three resorts and LTI with one resort, Alltours’ Club alltoura and Holiday Club with five resorts each, as well as MyTravel’s Sunwing with two resorts. Additionally, MyTravel has a minority stake in Cyprus-based AquaSol operating two resort hotels in Greece.

TUI also has a 50% stake in Grecotel, the country’s largest hotel management company and a further 50% stake in Cyprus-based Atlantica Hotels, that has a presence in Greece, as well. Thanks to its five brands, TUI is Greece’s largest hotel operator controlling a total of 43 hotels with 9,960 rooms (2.9% of all hotel rooms in Greece). A sixth TUI brand, Iberotel, recently ceased operating in Greece.

Several smaller tour operators have also introduced their own hotel brands in Greece. Among them are the Italian operators Ventaglio and Gruppo Domina Vacanze owning the VentaClub and Domina brands, the French company Groupe Heliades with the Blue& White Hotels, UK-based Contiki Holidays operating its very first Contiki Resort on Mykonos as well as the Cyprus-based Libra Holidays Group with its Cyprotels group.

The 17 tour operator-controlled brands (13 international brands, three Cypriot brands and one Greek brand) account for 84 hotels with 18,700 rooms or 5.5% of total Greek hotel room capacity (see Table 2).

Source: Koutoulas, Dimitris (2005), The 2005 Greek Hotel Branding Report, p. 12

Source: Koutoulas, Dimitris (2005), The 2005 Greek Hotel Branding Report, p. 16

Dimitris Koutoulas

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• Dimitris Koutoulas

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  Winfried Hancke, Group Director of Operations at Centara Hotels & Resorts