Developments and Challenges in the Greek Hospitality Sector for Economic Tourism Growth: The Case of Boutique Hotels
The hospitality industry is a rapidly evolving market, where the goal now is “differentiation of experience”. This article explores the growth of boutique hotels in Greece, as it is one of the dominant trends in the country's hotel industry. Specifically,
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Developments and Challenges in the Greek Hospitality Sector for Economic Tourism Growth: The Case of Boutique Hotels Vlami Aimilia Abstract The hospitality industry is a rapidly evolving market, where the goal now is “differentiation of experience”. This article explores the growth of boutique hotels in Greece, as it is one of the dominant trends in the country’s hotel industry. Specifically, it is attempted to determine the structural and functional characteristics of boutique hotels operating in Greece. In that framework, adopting the triangulated method (Secondary and Primary research qualitative and quantitative research) strengthen the complementary nature of the findings and enrich our understanding of the multidimensional and multifaceted status of boutique hotel. The findings of this effort concern the main characteristics of Greek boutique hotels, mainly from a supply perspective. Greek boutique hotels are characterized by low capacity and their location, which is an indispensable “ingredient” of the product, they stand out for their unique design concept, aim and work towards upgraded amenities & tailored services, and usually, invest in providing technology. Keywords Boutique hotel · Economic sustainability · Structural characteristics · Amenities and services
11.1 Introduction During the 1970s and 1980s, the hotel product experienced an intense era of homogenization and standardization (Freund de Klumbis and Munsters 2005; Teo and Chang 2009). It was the era during which the global hospitality industry grew following the Ford production model, whereby hotel units, in the framework of a “McDonaldisation” production process (Aliukeviciute 2012), aimed at satisfying large numbers of tourists, with small profit margins. The development of differentiated hotel products, which can be placed in the mid-1980s, is directly connected to the gradual transition of the hotel industry from the Ford model to a more flexible production model, where providing tailored accommodation services, is the added value of the V. Aimilia (B) Affiliate Lecturer of the Hellenic Open University, Athens, Greece e-mail: [email protected] © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021 D. Balsalobre-Lorente et al. (eds.), Strategies in Sustainable Tourism, Economic Growth and Clean Energy, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-59675-0_11
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accommodation (Judd 2006; Rogerson 2010). This transition in the hotel sector was directly connected to the changes in the consumer behaviour of tourists, who were increasingly seeking unique accommodation experiences (Freund de Klumbis and Munsters 2005; Aggett 2007; Timothy and Teye 2009).
11.2 The Historical Evolution of Boutique Hotels Blakes Hotel is considered the precursor of boutique hotels. It was founded by actress Anouska Hempel in 1978, in London. The hotel had a capacity of 50 rooms, each with its design, decoration and amenities. The hotel in question had a small bar and restaurant, adapted to the funky chic aesthetic that domina
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