Grecotel Hotels and Resorts has appointed Yiannis Ioannou as business development manager for the UK and Ireland as part of its mission to grow sales and brand recognition across the region.
The Greek native joins the luxury hotel company with 10 years of industry experience, having previously worked as a sales representative for Louis Hotels and as a UK sales manager for luxury hotels in Crete, Mykonos and Santorini.
He took a brief hiatus from travel during the Covid-19 pandemic, before returning to the field in 2022 as an independent business consultant for luxury hotels under the trading name Doubleaye.
Ioannou’s Grecotel debut will see him look after sales in the south, as well as Ireland. He will also support Liz Shaw, who recently joined the company from Elegant Resorts, in her work to boost business in the north.
“For me, it’s a very big achievement to join Grecotel,” Ioannou told TTG Luxury. “I know the trade very well – the travel agents, tour operators, product managers. With my personality and experience, I can approach these contacts again with a different purpose.”
Ioannou will focus on developing and extending the company’s partnerships, as well as selling and promoting its 40 properties to the UK and Irish market. This includes the recently launched collection of LuxME Resorts, Grecotel’s range of six all-inclusive properties.
He added he is fully embracing the fast pace of his new role: “When you start a new job, you need to learn your product. You need to study. It will take me a little while more to know almost everything, but the most important thing for me now is to continue my relationships with travel agents. I’ve already hosted fam trips to experience the Grecotel hotels in Crete and I’ve more coming up over the next six weeks.”
His addition to the team has been warmly welcomed by Konstantinos Sinis, Grecotel’s director of sales for the UK and luxury, who said: “We go a long way back with Yiannis when we used to work together at a representation company. He carries a wealth of experience within the trade and I am confident he will complement what we are trying to achieve. With his smile and authenticity I am sure agents will feel the warmth of Grecotel.”
Ioannou said he would focus on building trust with the trade and long-term relationships: “I am always honest with agents: if a particular property isn’t right for their clients, I tell them, and then they trust you.”
He added he is is determined to bring “Grecotel’s sales mission and actions to a new level” as well as further invest time in promoting the collection. “It’s fun and busy, but the biggest challenge is being everywhere at once!”
