phil butler
Lefteris Tsikandilakis – Hospitality Design Trendsetter
Phil Butler | June 8, 2018
By Phil Butler Lefteris Tsikandilakis has risen to be one of the most respected architects in Greece. His work is recognized for both the scope of projects he's undertaken, and for the vision, elegance, and functionality of his designs. He and his growing team have managed to distinguish themselves even in the harshest of economic crises. And the functionality of the firm's aesthetic designs are a differentiator in the industry, identify the Tsikandilakis brand in a highly competitive field. I managed to catch up with Tsikandilakis some days ago to get his take on the current state of hospitality design. I approached the archite...
Crete’s Nikos Igoumenidis on Emerging Trends and Sustainable Tourism
Phil Butler | May 22, 2018
By Phil Butler Dr. Nikos Igoumenidis is a Heraklion, Crete native elected to the Hellenic Parliament to represent his region, home city, and Crete back in 2015. A cardiologist by profession, he's a former Director of Cardiology at the clinic of the University General Hospital of Heraklion (PAGNI), and currently responsible for tourism on behalf of SYRIZA parliamentary group. We had the privilege recently of discussing with Dr. Igoumenidis the character of Crete hospitality and tourism to come including emerging alternative tourism trends such as; wellness/medical tourism, cultural tourism, and the underdeveloped rural tourism niche....
Is Google Out to Kill Bookings Competition?
Phil Butler | April 25, 2017
By Phil Butler If you missed the news at the beginning of April, Google is now experimenting with flight and hotel packages in the UK and Germany. Speaking at the first European Skift Forum, Oliver Heckmann, Vice President Travel and Shopping at Google Inc., said that although searchers will be shown bundled packages, they will still be able to "buy the individual components separately or together." The idea of package bundles is not new – Kayak has attempted it – but Google does bring something new on the market with a dynamic product that counts on intelligent algorithms rather than displaying flight and accommodation pac...
Is Your Hotel’s Future “Adopt Augmented Reality or Die?”
Phil Butler | January 19, 2017
By Phil Butler What if every hotel owner in the world were advised to add augmented reality at the next upgrade opportunity, or else? Well, there's no need to panic just yet. For near future reference though, here's a primer on the state of the augmented hotel room state. While the topics of AR and VR have been trending topics for some time now, the push forward for implementation is evident across the spectrum of hotel classes. While the trend has yet to catch on full spectrum, guest wants, the mobile revolution have prompted key brands to implement new tech. As the advantages hotels can gain by using AR technology gain traction though...
Chinese Plateno Group’s Expansion in Europe: A Company Insight Q&A with Tomasz Janczak
Phil Butler | November 7, 2016
by Phil Butler Tomasz Janczak, the Europe Director E-Commerce& Distribution of Plateno Group, is a respected industry expert, and an asset to the company that, through a strategic partnership with Jin Jiang International, is now the world's largest top 5 hotel company. His knowledge of the European market is instrumental in the growth of the Plateno brand on the continent. Already on a roll, the European expansion of Plateno Group is watched closely by hospitality experts, who are weighing on its signification. Building on this momentum, Janczak has answered a few important questions for Hotel-Online. Phil Butler: Recently Plate...
