Greek Assistant Minister of Culture and Tourism G. Nikitiadis (pic from his official website)

It was shaping up to be a cold day in London on Sunday but lo and behold the sun came out just in time for me to put on my sunglasses and head on down to a central London hotel to have coffee with the Greek Assistant Minister of Culture and Tourism, Giorgos Nikitiadis.

You’ll remember that the Assistant Minister called our client the other day in order to congratulate him for the good work he is doing at the Golden Bay Hotel in Malia. At the time he also spoke with my colleague Manolis and mentioned our white paper on Policy and Crisis Communications for the Hospitality Sector. We were naturally, delighted.

It turned out that the Assistant Minister would be visiting London to do the official opening of the Greek beach by the Thames so it seemed like a good opportunity for us to request a quick catch up on behalf of our clients.

With the hustle and bustle of London safely tucked away behind the glass we chatted about tourism in Greece, the new strategy that the Ministry is developing for promoting the country as a destination abroad and the hard core policies that our clients consider imperative for facilitating entrepreneurship and innovation in the hospitality sector.

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Greek Assistant Minister of Culture and Tourism G. Nikitiadis (pic from his official website)

The Greek Assistant Minister of Culture and Tourism, Giorgos Nikitiadis, called the Golden Bay Hotel in Malia today and then wrote a letter to congratulate the hotelier, Manolis Argyrakis for his offer of value – added services to travellers who were affected by the Greek strikes and the ash from the volcano which prevented them from returning home.

As we’ve written in the past and as it was covered by VIMA, a major Greek newspaper, Manolis Argyrakis of the Golden Bay hotel in Crete, is one of the clients for whom we initially wrote the SoMaFusion white paper on Policy and Crisis Communications for the Hospitality Sector. In that document we discuss the needs that will be created due to strike actions and other external factors and how it is important for hospitality sector people to analyse these needs and adapt their services accordingly.

Manolis took the advice seriously and he hasn’t regretted it. Many of his guests have been affected either by strike action or by the ash cloud. He instituted a policy according to which no client would be left without accommodation if they couldn’t vacate due to extenuating circumstances.

The Greek Assistant Minister of Culture and Tourism called the Golden Bay Hotel today and chatted with Argyrakis and my colleague Manolis Mavrantonakis of SoMaFusion. We are ecstatic that the Assistant Minister congratulated our client and had a few lovely words of encouragement and thanks for SoMaFusion and our white paper as well.

The Assistant Minister of Culture and Tourism, Giorgos Nikitiadis wrote: (more…)

The on line version of the newspaper article that presents Manolis and his famous hospitality in times of crisis.

Sometimes – especially in difficult times – it does your heart good to find positive news and especially to be in the privileged position of promoting them.

It was lovely therefore to talk with Achilleas Hekimoglou, a journalist for the Greek daily newspaper TO VIMA who read our white paper and saw real value in the story of Manolis from Golden Bay.

Following his research and discussions with us and our client he wrote a front page article in the newspaper which shows how Manolis of Golden Bay, following the advice of our white paper and operating as a hotelier in the true sense of the word rather than just another businessman has made a difference.

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Microphone Uploaded by mwhatley on 8 Jul 06, 6.20PM BST.

When that call comes for an interview with the media – especially television – people tend to get extremely nervous. I will grant you, television is a tough medium. We all tend to cringe away from how we look on camera and how we sound.

Yesterday a client was asked to do a live interview on television and we had a good time preparing and briefing. He was a bit nervous and fidgety but that’s to be be expected.

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It is no secret that tourism in Greece is currently affected by a number of challenges, primarily due to the financial crisis and its media coverage internationally. The practical problems, like strikes for example, might be creating problems for travellers.

One of our clients recognised that there was a need that he could meet. The guests at his hotel were worried that due to strikes they wouldn’t be able to vacate their rooms in time. Money, time and accommodation became a worry for them. This is not a time to be passive, this is the time to be active.

Manolis Argyrakis, of the Golden Bay hotel in Crete, is one of the clients for whom we initially wrote the SoMaFusion white paper on Policy and Crisis Communications for the Hospitality Sector. In that document we discuss the needs that will be created due to strike actions and other external factors and how it is important for hospitality sector people to analyse these needs and adapt their services accordingly.

Here is one of the relevant extracts – (more…)

Dimitris Karavasilis is a wonderful Greek writer and teacher.

It is our pleasure to announce that we are helping him on a pro bono basis to bring all his on line endeavours together, present his work and communicate with his numerous readers and friends online. (more…)

Ahsan, Saima and Mark with Ken Livingstone - from the Working for Hoe Street website

Our whole-hearted congratulations go out to newly elected Cllrs Saima Mahmud, Mark Rusling and Ahsan Khan at Hoe Street ward in Waltham Forest, London. They didn’t just get elected – they triumphed!

They came to us with a simple request. Help us reach our potential voters online and set out our policies clearly. (more…)

Παραλία Σταλίδας Uploaded by SykoFantiS Bastoyni on 12 Apr 10, 11.56AM BST.

Our main hospitality contracts being in Greece we know first hand how the EU/IMF rescue package is affecting the industry.

Any negative media coverage affects the industry and with news of economic trouble – not to mention protests and strikes – it is difficult for people travelling not to feel uneasy about a destination.

We know that the key during these periods is swift and decisive action from travel and hospitality companies. The state at times like these is sadly too bureaucratic and not flexible enough to take innovative action. However, individuals, companies and localities can hold the tide and build strong relationships with commercial contacts and customers that will endure.

There are opportunities in adversity, openings to tell your story and to build relationships. It is easy for companies in times of crisis that is not of their own making to put their head down and try to go through the motions or fire-fight. This creates a negative image not only externally but internally as well.

We are working on a white paper for our clients these days dealing with hospitality crisis communications. Our message is clear.

ANALYSE – PLAN – ADAPT – COMMUNICATE

It is imperative that companies recognise the insecurities that might plague their stakeholders and their customers so that they can be analysed and then a course of action planned.

In difficult times there might be scope for changes of policies, for value added services, for offerings that promote confidence and trust.

Finally, communicating a strong presence and the diversified offerings should be done in a careful and precise manner so that positive messages supersede the negativity of the times.

This is the time to find opportunity in adversity and build strong relationships for the future. It is a matter of survival and future growth.

Blooming London Uploaded by SoMaFusion on 28 Apr 10, 9.55AM BST.

As the picture will verify London is blooming these days. We actually did more work at the park lately then in an office. You know the volcano ash? Well, we got caught in it and Manolis was stuck in London for a while. Not that we minded too much, the weather being so nice and all. We managed to get through some work and start off a white paper. More on that, later, I promise.

These days our big hospitality contracts are running to full steam – start of the tourist period you see. Booking engines need to be updated, contracts renegotiated, prices changed, accommodation parameters arranged. To tell the truth it’s an exciting time for us; the whole time line stretches before you, the strategy is right there, the systems are ready from our work over the winter and all that’s left is to fill in the blanks. Perhaps I should blog about how we run the hospitality stuff sometime.

On other news we are running a pro bono contract these days with a marvellous artist which has got me thinking about creative people and their use of social media. There is some reading I want to go through and then I’ll share some thoughts.

Finally, we are working on a new venture – again on hospitality. Manolis is working out the details of the business plan before we sit down and think seriously about it but it’s still an exciting time for us.

If only the weather in London would hold as well…

Refuse Uploaded by D I C K S D A I L Y on 29 Jan 07, 9.45PM GMT.

All of our beloved designers have the same problem. They end up doing projects that they don’t like because the clients ask for minutely specified things. We sympathise and understand. Not to mention that we enjoy reading a lovely new blog (sorry, in Greek only) detailing some such adventures.

However, we tend to say ‘no’ quite a lot. Manolis reminded me today when we were discussing the possibility of doing a pro bono project for someone we like (more on that one later).

Before we get down and do a project we really, honestly look into who the client is and what are his/her needs. As we say in our process page, we then research and come up with proposals. We then discuss them and the client needs to be happy.

However, there are times that we say no. We see it as our obligation and our responsibility to say when we don’t think something is a good idea and especially when we think it will hurt our client.

Recent example: One of our clients was considering opening a Facebook Fan Page. We went over the audience, the needs, the segments and we as SoMaFusion agreed that there would be no tangible return whatsoever, it was too late (there was a specific deadline, sorry I can’t share more on this) and it would not achieve the desired end result. We discussed this with our client, explained, debated and in the end he agreed with us. And – crucially – he was happy.

Let me stress this for a moment. Our client trusted us to give an opinion as specialists and as people who actually researched the question and responded responsibly. Sure, effectively we said ‘no’. And we are still convinced that we did the right thing – our client agrees by the way.

It once happened that a prospective client did not agree. He approached us with specific (very specific) ideas and laid them down. We tried to debate, we tried to explain but he wanted to do it his way. We turned down the contract. Not out of animosity – not at all, but let me express this as clearly as possible. We like what we do. In fact we love it. We refused so that we could keep on loving it. We remained happy… even though I’m never sure how that prospective client fared.