Alpine Success Story| Panos Almyrantis

Panos Almyrantis, Swiss Diploma in Hotel Management

Panos Almyrantis, General Manager of Daios Cove Luxury Resort & Villas in Agios Nikolaos, Crete is one of the industry’s shining stars. We recently sat down with Panos at the beautiful property he manages in Crete and shared wonderful memories of his early days of studying at Alpine Center. Panos then ventured off to the United States where he completed his BA and MBA at the Johnson & Wales University. He recalls how different life was at the early days of technology and how today’s students have to thrive in a completely different environment. Panos wears many hats, not only is he a successful General Manager, he is also a National Delegate for Greece & Cyprus and Vice President of the European Hotel Managers Association (EHMA). As an active Alpine Alumnus, Panos is keen on taking the education in the hospitality industry in Greece, one step further. Young, successful and a visionary, he is a perfect example of an exceptional hospitality management  graduate. Read on to learn more about his inspiring career and future projects. 

Why did you choose to study hotel management in the first place?

When I was a boy, every time my parents had friends visiting, I enjoyed making sure the guests were comfortable in their room, cleaning the room, tidying the bed and even placing clean towels. I enjoyed the fantasy of being a hotelier and I dreamed of one day running my own hotel. The turning point though, was one day back in the 80’s, when my aunt who was an Assistant Food & Beverage Manager at the Club Med, took me with her at work.  I still remember how surprised I was when I saw amazing buffet arrangements decorated with lobster and big fish, followed by an animation team of 60 persons performing at an amphitheater and the cosmopolitan character of the resort.  That was it.  Love at first sight!

Reception Area at Daios Cove

As an Alpine Alumnus you have always maintained strong ties with Alpine Center even after your graduation. How important do you believe it is for graduates to be active Alumnus? What are the benefits in your opinion? 

There are many reasons of why we should all maintain strong ties with Alpine starting from remembering and honoring our first hotel steps. Alumni could provide placements, internships, mentoring and career advice to the current students.  Alumni are in excellent position to broker partnerships (as consultants / researchers / advisors) between the institution and our employees / affiliated organizations.  Alumni could also help to bring overall improvement in quality of teaching by sharing their real life feedback with the institutional leadership. 

On the subject of being an active Alumnus, as a National Delegate for Greece & Cyprus and Vice President of the European Hotel Managers Association (EHMA) you have recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding on Cooperation with Alpine Center to develop academic programs, joint research activities, among other things. What inspired this initiative?

Alpine is a legacy to its graduates and given the career many of us developed, it is proven that we walked on the right path.  Successful Hotel Management is 100% peoples’ job. The fewer mistakes you make the more successful your team will be. The more successful the team, the more successful the manager. The more successful the manager the more successful the hotel.   EHMA’s members are experienced General Managers, who by providing case study materials and giving guest lectures bring real life experiences into the classrooms.  This can only be an inspiration to students. 

How do you see the future of hospitality education in Greece? There seems to be a shortage of well qualified and educated hospitality professionals.  How can we inspire young men and women to follow this exciting career?

The world has become smaller and people travel much more than they used to.  This has introduced many new destinations underlined by new hotel developments.   Hospitality is the answer to unemployment as its different segments (hotels, restaurants, airlines, catering, lodges, amusement, etc), provide the security of finding a job.  Look at what’s happening in Greece over the last five years with new International companies developing such as Marriott, the opening of the Four Seasons and others in pipeline.  Let alone that if you have a broaden spectrum you can work anywhere worldwide.   Alexander the Great quoted “I am indebted to my father for living, but to my teacher for living well”.  Alpine’s Swiss expertise will be the teacher to many students for living well in hospitality.

If you weren’t a hotel manager, what would you think you would be doing as a career? 

The hospitality industry is evolving every day, so I never felt a need of doing something else, which is why I get motivated daily by staying close to my team and rewarding them when they do something special even with a good word.  This is a fascinating daily task!  To encapsulate this, I am always curious, I have ethics and integrity and above all I have fun cause we serve people.  After all this is not a profession but a way of life.

What do you like most about Crete and the area of Agios Nikolaos where Daios Cove Luxury Resort & Villas? 

Undoubtedly Crete is a remarkable place to visit full of undiscovered gems such as sightseeing, history or a plethora of activities catering to every taste.  From exploring  the stunning coastline of the Cretan Sea and the Mirabello Bay, to driving through quaint mountain villages, untouched nature and stunning landscapes. 

Not to forget the tranquil and picturesque Lake Voulismeni, at Agios Nikolaos, a lively shopping and dining destination by day that turns into a buzzing entertainment centre by night. And the most important of all, Daios Cove is a canvas. It is evolving with our guests and our guests are evolving with us.

Elena Sergeeva and Panos Almyrantis, Alpine graduates at Daios Cove

We would be happy to give you a call and answer any questions you may have.

Swiss Alpine Center

the Swiss Business School for Hotel & Tourism Management is celebrating 4 decades. The Company was established in Switzerland in 1986 and it’s 1st campus outside Switzerland was Established in Athens-Greece in 1987, and is a pioneer of hospitality management education, a la Suisse! Alpine has attracted students from over 75 countries in the last three decades, making it a truly international institute of learning.

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