An initiative of the Boutique Hotel Program of the Hellenic Chamber of Hotels, the forum continues to grow in participation each year. Once again, it enabled program members to connect with top tourism professionals from Europe and Greece, strengthening their networking and business prospects.

With the central theme “Meet, Share, Grow,” this well-established event brought together program members with travel agents and international media journalists who shape modern tourism trends. Through pre-arranged B2B meetings at the forum, participating hotels showcased their distinctive hospitality offerings, built new professional relationships, and enhanced their visibility in international markets. To facilitate these interactions, a dedicated digital platform was activated, enabling more than 450 in-person professional meetings.

At the event’s opening, guest speakers addressed key industry topics, including “Tools and Practices for Effective Hotel Promotion,” “CRM Marketing for Hotels,” and “Human Resource Management in Tourism Enterprises.” The presentations featured contributions from Mr. Giannis Angelakis, founder of Engage Media, Mr. Konstantinos Skianis and Ms. Alexandra Lavda from Mediacube, as well as Dr. Theodoros Stavrinoudis, professor at the University of the Aegean and director of the iTED Lab.

In his welcoming remarks, Mr. Alexandros Vassilikos, President of the Hellenic Chamber of Hotels, reaffirmed the Chamber’s commitment to supporting the Boutique Hotel community, which showcases Greek hospitality at its best and contributes to sustainable tourism development.

Ms. Aimilia Vlami, scientific coordinator of the Boutique Hotel Program, highlighted the benefits and privileges enjoyed by community members, emphasizing the Chamber’s role in promoting small hotels with unique personality and identity.

The experience concluded on Saturday, March 29, with a cultural and gastronomic tour of Athens. Participants enjoyed an interactive treasure hunt through the picturesque alleys of Plaka, organized by Narratologies. Using its award-winning app and Game

Masters, attendees discovered the city’s hidden secrets, explored the myth of Athena and Poseidon, and savored authentic local delicacies. The tour continued with a visit to the Acropolis Museum, where guests admired its unique exhibits, before ending the day with a delightful Greek cuisine dining experience overlooking the Temple of Olympian Zeus. This cultural experience was supported by the Athens, Attica & Argosaronic Hotel Association.

The undeniable success of the 4th B2B Boutique Hotel Forum underscores the event’s growing significance and the vital role of professional networking in the development of Boutique Hotels.

On Thursday, June 13, the Boutique Hotel hosted a B2B event titled “Networking with Digital Content Creators: Be Inspired, Learn, Grow Your Business” at the Grande Bretagne Hotel in Athens. This event provided an exceptional platform for over 200 member hotels to engage with top digital content creators from Belgium, France, Serbia, Germany, the UK, Hungary, and Greece. Attendees were motivated by content creation practices tailored for social media platforms including Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube.

Participants gained insights into the impact of AI on hotel operations and promotion, while engaging in numerous B2B meetings to explore collaboration opportunities with content creators. Esteemed AI expert Mr. Theodoros Moulos delivered a compelling presentation on how AI can enhance the growth and visibility of hotel businesses.

Throughout the event, Boutique Hotel members had the opportunity to:

Network: Participate in B2B meetings and explore collaboration opportunities with content creators.

Get Inspired: Learn effective content creation practices for various social networking platforms.

Get Educated: Understand the transformative changes AI brings to hotel operations and promotion.

Ms. Aimilia Vlami, manager of the Boutique Hotel program, emphasized the growing membership of the program, noting that more hotels are recognizing the benefits of joining the Boutique Hotels community. She highlighted the event as the beginning of the new Boutique Hotel brand, “Greek Heart,” as it starts its global journey.

Commenting on the program, the President of the Hellenic Chamber of Hotels, Mr. Alexandros Vasilikos, said: “Based on the main message of the Boutique Hotel program campaign ‘Love to Host You,’ we had the pleasure of hosting 23 distinguished digital content creators in Athens. Their compelling images, videos, and narratives inspire travelers to explore new experiences in tourist accommodation. With this B2B event, the Boutique Hotel program reaffirms its commitment to informing, educating, and promoting its member hotels.”

The event not only strengthened connections within the hotel industry but also set the stage for future collaborations that can drive innovation and growth. As digital content continues to shape the landscape of hospitality, events like these are crucial in helping hotels stay ahead of the curve and leverage new technologies to enhance guest experiences.

In this light, the emblematic action of the Hellenic Chamber of Hotels was presented in an elegant stand that gathered a large number of visitors, where the renewed communication identity and the number of privileges offered to the members of the program were shown.

Positive impressions were made by the “Dialogues”, the event held during the exhibition with the main theme:“Boutique Hotel discusses authenticity – The value of place in architectural design, food, culinary tradition and experiential hospitality experience”, where guest speakers, distinguished professionals, professors and entrepreneurs from the tourism and hospitality sectors conveyed their experiences through interactive dialogues and kept the audience’s interest undiminished.

In particular, the architect Mr. Panagiotis Tombras, founder of the company Top Mentor Consultants, the professor of Harokopei University Mr. Giorgos Boskus, Mrs. Anna Maria Barou, bespoke breakfast consultant and food stylist, together with the owners of the Boutique Hotels Mr. Filareto Psimmeno , Amanita guesthouse – Pelion, Ms. Maria Kladaki, Orloff Boutique Hotel – Hydra and Mr. Stelios Mantzari, Varos Village – Limnos lent their expertise and good practices to the “boutique” accommodation experience, in order to connect it with the destination’s identity, authentic experiences and sustainable tourism development.

In addition, tourism and hospitality students from Public Vocational Training Institutes of Piraeus, Acharna and Agios Dimitrios visited the stand. Afterwards, Mrs. Christina Tetradis, vice-president of Hellenic Chamber of Hotels, addressed a greeting, Mrs. Emilia Vlami defined the framework of the Boutique Hotel program, Mrs. Maria Tzannou presented its new identity and Mrs. Katerina Saridaki highlighted the possibilities of developing new innovative technological companies active in the hotel sector industry.

It should be noted that the stand was visited by the president of the Hellenic Chamber of Hotels and president of HOTREC, Mr. Alexandros Vasilikos, as well as members of the Hellenic Chamber of Hotels.

In particular, the president of the Hellenic Chamber of Hotels, Mr. Alexandros Vassilikos emphasized the following: “The Hellenic Chamber of Hotels contributes dynamically to the national effort to support the economy, sustainable tourism development and the stimulation of employment, and with the Boutique Hotel program the qualitative upgrade of the Greek hospitality. With a significant increase in its Members, the program is dynamically moving into a new phase of extroversion with a renewed identity and brand”.