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On Friday 13 November the Spa Managers Club of Greece, SMCG, was launched at Alpine College’s campus located in Glyfada, with the following spa managers of leading hotels in Greece:
Mr Vasilis Efthimiadis, Divani Apollon Palace & Spa; Ms Rita Katsarou, Club Hotel Casino Loutraki; Ms Stavroula Kouznetsov, Arion Spa at the Astir Palace Resort, Vouliagmenis; Mr Stavros Mavridis, Thraki Palace Hotel & Conference Center; Ms Marianna Menti, Life Gallery Athens; Mr Ioannis Patsanis, Athens Hilton Hotel; Ms Argentina Skintges, Porto Carras Grand Resort. Apologies were received from prospective members including: Ms Dora Koromila of Galini Wellness Spa & Resort; Ms Afroditi Theodoraki, Grecotel Fitness Clubs & Thalasso Spa Resorts; Ms Dimitra Stathopoulou, St George Lycabettus; Ms Anne Specque, Starwood Luxury Collection, Grande Bretagne Hotel; Ms Antonia Sklavi of Hyatt Regency Thessaloniki Spa, and Mr Zaxarias Xnaris, Aegeo Spas. Other spa related company representatives in attendance included; Mr John Papadopoulos, Managing Director of Aithra Spa Consultants; Ms Georgina Karella, CEO of Urbane Group Ltd; and Ms Natasha Karatza, Product Manager Aphrodite of Eurotel Hospitality. Mr Pavlos Papadimitriou, Associate at HVS Hospitality Consulting Services. was invited to inform the meeting of a survey he is undertaking on behalf of HVS Athens on the Spa Industry in Greece.
The Spa Managers Club of Greece which operates under the auspices of Alpine College is founded to promote high standards of quality and services within the fast growing spa industry through education and professional development opportunities for its members. The goal of the Club is to offer a platform for spa managers to network and plan for the future with the aim of sharing best practices, facilitating employment and student placements, and encouraging research and publication.
The hosts of the event included Alpine College’s President, Mrs Sybil Hofmann; Vice President, Mr Eric Hofmann; Academic Dean, Dr Georgios Papageorgiou; and Career & Placement Manager/Spa Management Course Coordinator, Ms Elena Sergeeva.
The Board which is presided by Alpine College’s President, includes the following members: Mr John Papadopoulos, Advisor, in charge of liaison between industry and education; Mr Ioannis Patsanis, Vice President in charge of membership; Ms Stavroula Kouznetsov, Vice President in charge of corporate members and sponsors; Ms Georgina Karella, Vice President in charge of public relations and marketing; Mr Stavros Mavridis as Executive Director; and Ms Elena Sergeeva as secretary/Treasurer. Five Regional Directors representing the five regions of Greece include Mr Vassilis Efthimiadis, Regional Director for Attika and Central Greece; Ms Rita Katsarou, Regional Director for Peloponnese and Ioannian; and Ms Argentina Skintges Regional Director for Northern Greece. Candidates for the two other regions, namely Crete and the Aegean, will shortly be nominated.
The Spa Managers Club’s immediate goals include setting standards for spa managers; organizing a series of seminars targeted to hotel owners as well as spa managers and aspiring managers; launching a website which is being sponsored by Eurotel Hospitality; and sharing best practices. Affiliation with other Spa Associations in Europe is already underway and preparations of a Spa Summit of Southeastern Europe in Fall 2010 are in the planning process.
Theodore is the Co-Founder and Managing Editor of TravelDailyNews Media Network; his responsibilities include business development and planning for TravelDailyNews long-term opportunities.
