Alderley Edge is one of the country’s most affluent areas, set within Cheshire’s “golden triangle”, so it seemed an apt last stop on a series of Grecotel events held this year for some of the UK’s best travel planners in partnership with TTG Luxury.
Lunch with 20 luxury-focused travel professionals at the village’s San Carlo restaurant was also a perfect way to celebrate what has been a phenomenal year generally for Greece, with agents in attendance saying the destination has very much been in demand among the well-heeled travellers of north-west England.
Europe generally has been the number-one region for most in the room, but for some, Greece was head and shoulders above the rest.
“All my clients seem to have gone to Greece. There are a lot of great hotels there now and Greece also seems to want the tourism more,” said Travel Counsellor Mags Sorrigan.
“It seems people are finding it better quality than Spain in some cases, and it feels like Greece has definitely moved on when it comes to luxury hotels,” agreed Lynn Cragg, director of LTH World Travel.
“There’s an abundance of options, and it feels more friendly and open-armed,” highlighted Samuel Mond, co-founder of Reserve A Hotel. “I think with some countries there’s an expectation that people will always come, and that’s not necessarily the case.”
“2024 has been a very successful year for Grecotel, culminating in an award-winning streak with prominent accolades for our properties,” said Kostas Sinis, Grecotel’s director of sales UK and luxury.
“We are proud to have achieved an increase of over 20% in revenue on an already record-breaking 2023. The UK market has grown rapidly with our dedicated sales and promotional strategy, and is now the most important market for Grecotel.
“We hosted 22 of the most influential fam trips and conferences at our hotels this year, such as The Carrier Retreat, the Elegant Resorts managers’ conference and the Gold Travel Counsellors conference.
These extraordinary trips have driven incredible growth for us in the luxury market and amplified our visibility and influence.”
Angela Perkins, from Designer Travel, said there was a “real love for Greece at the moment”, adding it was made an even more attractive proposition to sell due to the strength of relationships with hoteliers there. “That allows us to really sell it better,” she said.
Many agents agreed it was not always the case among the islands, however, with some saying Mykonos seemed to have “priced itself out” of the market.
Agents enthusiastically said many clients were booking in advance for summer 2025 and even into 2026, in an attempt to ensure they could secure the hotel or holiday they wanted.
“We could do with more daytime flights into Greece, that would really help things even more, especially for families,” said Barbara Sutton, Travel Counsellors.
“I’d love to see more flight options for popular islands like Crete and Rhodes,” Laura Featonby of Laura’s Travel agreed. She – like many attendees – bemoaned an age-old reluctance by hotels to confirm interconnecting rooms on a booking.
While conceding that these are usually confirmed on arrival, she added: “That can still put people off, that lack of guarantee on whether families will have these kinds of rooms. Room types are also key – some clients are put on by the dreaded sofa bed in a family room instead of an additional bed.”
Time savers
Many agents in the room said the pandemic had eventually resulted in them having the chance to reflect on their work-life balance.
Stella Sharples, a Personal Travel Agent, said: “Everyone runs their business at their own pace and manages their time – I think that’s one of the biggest changes really. I am more realistic with my time, and I have learnt to manage the expectations of my clients; I’m a bit stricter, if you like, as to when they can expect to hear from me.”
Mond said he was thinking along the same lines. “I have felt more relaxed about things in 2024, over 2023. Yes, things are important to get done, but not with the mad panic of urgently trying to get back to people. This year has felt much more settled. If you’re good at what you do, people will wait for you.”
“We all do things differently as it suits you and your business – I regularly show up on social media, as it takes time to build up and then attract people,” added Designer Travel’s Angela Perkins. “You have to have confidence in what you do.”
She was among the agents who also highlighted, however, that there was a need for agents – and suppliers – “to stick together” more in the face of potentially sliding industry standards when it came to agents with little experience.
“I think clients will always be able to tell which agents are the professional ones, but we need to ensure we continue to build strong relationships with suppliers, which will be of benefit to everyone; us as agents, the clients and the hotels,” she said.
“As a travel community, we need to have each other’s backs,” Mond added. “We need to hold ourselves to high standards.”
As for the year ahead, Grecotel’s Sinis said he believes there is much to look forward to: “2025 isn’t just another year for us, it marks a major milestone for our family, celebrating Grecotel’s 50th anniversary, fuelled by our deep heritage and unwavering vision to enrich authentic Greek hospitality.
“It will also be a year with significant investments – with many renovations and new openings including in Filoxenia in Kalamata, Messinia and Astir in Alexandroupoli in Thrace, northern Greece. We are also actively recruiting to expand the team with two more professionals based in the UK to complement the efforts of Liz Shaw and Yiannis Ioannou, giving us a team of four based in the UK. We have already recruited one person – with Briony Lea Worrall joining us.”
To see more pictures from the event, please visit the online Facebook gallery
