Looking Back on 2021

Accor Group | CEO’s visit to Greece

In September 2021,  Mr. Sebastien Bazin, Chairman CEO of Accor, came to Athens for top level meetings with the Greek Government and the Red Ribbon Cutting Ceremony of the Athens Capital Hotel – MGallery Collection. In close collaboration with Accor’s HQ and ACH management, Travelworks prepared and rolled out a strategic PR & Media Relations programme for the visit that triggered more than 350 mentions and features in both print and digital formats with a media value that exceeded € 460k. This entailed maintaining consistent one-to-one communications with the Greek press while organising exclusive interviews with both Mr. Bazin and the CEO of Accor Southern Europe, Ms. Maud Bailly, in top national publications.

Crafting content for Mandarin Oriental, Doha

Beginning in the opening quarter of 2021, Travelworks was selected to curate and craft content for Mandarin Oriental, Doha’s social media ecosystem. Working in close cooperation with the hotel’s marketing team, Travelworks creates original content in line with corporate guidelines, establishing unique and on-brand social media aesthetics across the hotel’s various channels.

Raffles Hotels | Introducing the Old War Office

Under its Raffles Hotels & Resorts subsidiary, the Accor Group acquired and redeveloped the historical Old War Offices in Whitehall, London, welcoming the world to the luxurious OWO Residences. In direct collaboration with Accor’s British and Italian headquarters, Travelworks communicated the new development to Greek audiences to trigger significant press coverage. Spearheaded by an exclusive 10-page spread in the print edition of Gala, the campaign generated over 50 mentions in leading digital and print publications with an estimated media value of €122k.

Banyan Tree | Opening of Angsana Corfu

2021 saw the opening of Angsana Corfu Resort & Spa, a newly-built five-star property in the Ionian. A landmark achievement, Angsana Corfu flags the entrance of the world-famous Banyan Tree Holdings into Europe. Travelworks was tasked with communicating and crafting the resort’s opening, collaborating with the Angsana Corfu marketing team to design and orchestrate everything from social media to press trips throughout its debut. In result, the PR campaign created over 150 mentions in leading local publications.

60+ creative projects for Mandarin Oriental, Doha

Throughout 2021, Travelworks supported the Mandarin Oriental, Doha team with the curation of its hotel and sales collaterals. An Athens-based team of four maintained daily communication with the Mandarin Oriental marketing team, generating over 60 design projects including F&B menus, presentations, sales collaterals, festive banners and more.

Global hospitality insights for Fortune Greece

The Greek edition of Fortune Magazine, a leading industry publication, forged a strategic content partnership with Travelworks in 2021. Under the collaboration, Travelworks curates regular feature articles to the ‘Boarding Pass: Travel Insights Unpacked.’ The section introduces international hospitality insights into the Greek market, featuring exclusive selected interviews with global market leaders.

Storytelling strategy for Kalesma Mykonos

The Travelworks team crafted the content strategy for the debut year of Kalesma Mykonos, a five-star, boutique hotel in Mykonos. Following day-to-day communications with the hotel, an in-house creative team designed and produced original content for  branded collaterals and social media. Focusing on brand building and storytelling, distinct visual and verbal languages were designed for the brand, ultimately generating huge increases in the hotel’s reach, engagement and followings online.

Meliá Hotels International expands in Greece

In 2021, Travelworks was tasked to craft the communication of Meliá’s expansion into the Greek market. Through its partnership with Zeus Hotels, a Greek company specializing in hotel management with six properties throughout Crete and Rhodes, the Group advanced its presence in Greece, welcoming three local hotels into its portfolio: Blue Sea Beach Hotel and Marina Beach on the island of Crete, and The Cosmopolitan Hotel in Rhodes. In cooperation with Meliá, Travelworks organised interviews, press releases, one-on-one communications and placements on industry panels, generating more than 120 mentions with an estimated media value of €220k.

Exclusive Interview with the CEO of Accor Southern Europe

In cooperation with Fortune Magazine, the Travelworks team hosted an interview with Ms. Maud Bailly, CEO of Accor Southern Europe. Published in the magazine’s print and digital editions, the article featured information regarding Accor’s expansion into the Greek market, the opening of Athens Capital Hotel – MGallery Collection and plans for future development.

“Hospitality Returns” white paper

Commissioned by DHR Services, Travelworks collaborated on an industry-leading white paper: ‘Hospitality Returns.’ A cooperative effort between in-house marketing, communications and creative teams, Travelworks oversaw the organisation of the White Paper’s creation, including project and contributor coordination, design and production. The end result was a series of widely-publicised industry insights, including opinion statements and research information from 26 leading professionals from JP Morgan, Expedia, Marriot, Hilton, Radisson, Ernst & Young, PWC, Fraport Greece, Lamda Development, Sani / Ikos & SETE.

Exclusive Interview with the Secretary General of the World Tourism Organisation

In the context of the ongoing content creation partnership with the Greek edition of Fortune Magazine, Travelworks organised and held an exclusive interview with Mr. Zurab Pololikashvili, Secretary-General of the World Tourism Organization. Published in the print and digital editions of the magazine, the feature discussed Mr. Pololikashvili’s views on the state of the global travel industry and insights into the performance of the Greek tourism market from an institutional perspective.

A five-star, boho-chic haven opens on Crete

Opened in 2021, Sentido Unique Blue is a luxury lifestyle resort in Crete. To assist with the hotel’s opening year, Travelworks supplied a holistic range of services including sales collaterals, hotel collaterals and social media management. This entailed the design and production of branded materials and the curatorship of two social media profiles, including a separate F&B venue. In partnership with the resort team, Travelworks strategized a unique ‘boho-chic’ aesthetic for the brand, an image that has run throughout all content.

Poseidonion presents ‘The Pine Estate’

The Poseidonion Grand Hotel, an emblematic hotel on the island of Spetses, acquired The Pine Estate as a new private property for its guests. In continuation of its longstanding collaboration with the Poseidonion, Travelworks implemented a comprehensive PR and communications strategy to announce and market the new property, including the creation of social media profiles, collaterals and press releases to local and international press.

UK Media campaign for Summer Senses

Summer Senses, the number one luxury option on the island of Paros, has selected Travelworks to curate its media relations since 2019. In 2021, Travelworks coordinated with both Tatler and Condé Nast Traveller UK, platforming the resort in both print and digital domains. By the end of the year, Summer Senses had been voted among the top 20 hotels in Greece & Turkey in the Condé Nast Readers’ Choice Awards.

The Royalty of Raffles: New campaign

Raffles Hotels & Resorts launched a new communications campaign in 2021 entitled ‘Hotel Royalty since 1887’. Working in conjunction with Accor’s HQ team, Travelworks communicated the new campaign in high-profile Greek publications including an exclusive 10-page spread in Gala Magazine Greece.

Lesante Cape: Reviving the grandeur of Zakynthos

A new client and member of Leading Hotels of the World, Lesante Cape is a luxury resort set to open in 2022. Representing the third member of the Lesante Collection, the client’s marketing team enlisted Travelworks for the hotel’s creative storytelling, designing a series of pre-opening sales collaterals, including hotel presentations, fact sheets and sales collaterals. Featuring creative brand building, creative strategy and communications, the storytelling foundations of Lesante Cape have been crafted by Travelworks in conjunction with the Lesante Collection team.

Cove: A new chapter of luxury for Paros

Cove Paros, a newly-built luxury resort on Paros, asked Travelworks to advise and organise its pre-opening activations and PR materials. The Travelworks team designed and carried out the strategic communication of the hotel’s debut to all major Greek media outlets. The extensive PR campaign generated more than 100 references throughout leading print and digital media.

The 2nd edition of the Virtual Charter Yacht Show

As a long term content partner of the Greek Yachting Association (GYA), Travelworks publicized and facilitated the second edition of the Virtual Yacht Charter Show. A digital version of the GYA’s annual Mediterranean Yacht Show, the Virtual Yacht Show unites charterers, agents and connoisseurs in an interactive online platform. Travelworks communicated the event on the GYA’s social media profiles, as well as designing and publishing mail marketing campaigns and press releases to top industry publications.