Marco Peter Nijhof, a 25-year hospitality veteran, has joined the list of hotel industry experts to speak at the Athens Hotel Branding Seminar. The objective of this event to take place between September 22-24, 2005 in Athens is to educate hoteliers about the different options of branding their hotels and the alternative choices such as franchising, management contracts or hotel consortia membership.

Nijhof has worked for several global hotel chains on four continents and has first-hand experience in setting up and growing hospitality brands. Nijhof is currently the Director of Operations & Development at Serena Hotels, a chain of 22 hotels in nine countries owned by the Aga Khan Fund for Economical Development, part of the Aga Khan Development Network. Previously, he has held top management positions at Hyatt International, Boscolo Hotels International and Harbour Plaza Hotels & Resorts.

Seminar participants will profit not only from Nijhof`s expertise in hotel branding but also from his in-depth knowledge of the Greek hotel industry thanks to previous appointments with Hyatt and Marriott, said Dr. Dimitris Koutoulas, the scientific chair of the Athens Hotel Branding Seminar, which is aimed mainly at Greek hotel owners, investors and general managers. Greece has one of Europe`s largest hotel markets comprising 8,600 businesses with a total capacity of 341,000 rooms. However, despite its rapid growth, the Greek hotel sector is among the least penetrated by global and local brands, with only 2.5% of the country`s hotels having a brand affiliation.

The Athens Hotel Branding Seminar is organised by Travel Daily News, the leading and most influential tourism industry publication of Greece. Travel Daily News produces a daily e-newsletter both in Greek TravelDailyNews Greece & Cyprus and in English TravelDailyNews International. The Greek edition is read daily by 8,000 senior travel and hospitality professionals. The readership of the International edition is even larger, with 15,000 professionals from throughout the world receiving the daily e-newsletter. Travel Daily News also operates a separate consumer site and e-newsletter aimed at the Greek public under the Travel for all brand.