During the first day of the Xenia 2018 trade show, the specially-designed stage in the impressive Hotel Megatrends project in Hall 1, arrested the attention of hoteliers from all across Greece. Distinguished experts introduced to visitors a variety of projects and showcased important aspects of the modern hotel culture. The program was off to a dynamic start from day one and the Hotel Megatrends official presentation by Thodoris Makridis (Makridis Associates), Nikolaos Koukos (ΚΑΥΚΑΣ), Vassiliki Karadimou (LG Electronic Hellas), Vassilis Vlachogiannis (VITEX), Alexis Christodoulakis (IT CONCEPT) and Stavros Mavridis (EFZIN) coordinated by the Hotel Megatrends project manager, Kostas Koutsantonakis. The presentation was followed by an interesting debate with speakers answering questions regarding the latest trends in hotel investments. Ria Vogiatzi from Elastic Architects spoke about the investment trends and the strategic renovation of the urban hotel, while, later on, Ilias Mastrominas from Mastrominas Architecture analyzed architecture as a lever for the development of high-performance tourism investments. Specifically, he stressed the importance to return to a genuine architectural experience combined with a holistic approach to architectural design.
Of particular interest was also the speech by Thomas Gravanis (Founder L + DG) on lighting as a tool for boosting hotel identity and giving added value to tourism accommodation. In addition, visitors had the opportunity to follow a speech by Christos Andreopoulos Head of IT for the Oetker Collection on technology as a key business and cost factor, and in particular, the case of “High Touch vs High Tech” –namely, how hotels interpret and can combine technology with high aesthetics– in luxury hotels, as well as a commentary by Thanos Skoulikakis (Pylones Hellas SA) on Wi-Fi a hotel evaluation factor by its customers.
