Nikos Vlassiadis, the General Manager of Creta Maris describes his everyday routine, talks about the greatest challenges of his job and shares his vision for the future.

Describe the philosophy of Creta Maris in 5 words.

Cretan, Customer Oriented, Sustainable, Traditional, Authentic, Devoted to the local society’s growth

A typical day at work (what you do, what you have to deal with).

My day starts every day at 08:00 a.m. but there is no such thing as a typical day. The best part of my job is that my days are never the same.
I arrive at the hotel in the morning and the first things I do is to check my emails, to review the “Managers On Duty” report, the Guest in house report and the Daily program. Then, I go for a walk around the hotel, visit the restaurants, talk to guests and inspect outdoors.
Approximately at 9 a.m. I meet with the key managers for our daily briefing, when we review the activities of the day. This is when each team member shares what’s happening that day and see what challenges we are facing. Then, it comes the time to check my emails, the reports of the day, to review invoices, make the necessary phone calls and to review management and hotel performance data.
From 11:00 to 14:00 I visit the areas of the hotel and meet guests for a small chat. I also visit the restaurants for lunch, where I interact with the guests and the employees so to make sure that everything is according the standards. At this time, I also visit the “Back of House” areas, where I chat with employees. At 14:00 I find some time for Lunch, while right afterwards I have another tour of the property, when I visit the waterpark and have a chat with guests and employees.
At evening, I may find some time to hit the gym, while then I make sure to have the time to supervise the swimming pools’ closure. A walk through the restaurants and a chat with the staff is also included in the evening, while before 21:00 I check the Open-Air Cinema before the movie starts.
From 21:00 to 22:00 I head back to the office to review emails and tomorrows agenda, while from 22:00 to 23:00 I check the evening entertainment, thus making sure the program runs smoothly. Last thing of the day is to talk to Manager on Duty and secure that everything is running well.

What’s the biggest challenge when managing a resort like Creta Maris?

The biggest challenge to manage such a hotel like Creta Maris is the size and the complexity of our clientele, ranging from families to business travelers. A constant challenge is to maintain stamina since our job is on 24 hours, 7 days per week basis. GM position requires various personality characteristics on.

What differentiates Creta Maris from other hotels? What makes travelers return here every year, in your opinion?

Our people are the main reason why our guests choose to return to Creta Maris year after year. I think that the provision of excellent services, that exceed the expectations of the guests, along with our Cretan philosophy and Sustainable operation are the main factors of the high preference our guests show to Creta Maris.

What is your favorite place in Creta Maris?

Fikos is definitely my favorite place. It is the biggest and one of the oldest trees situated on the premises of the hotel that offers the perfect shadow to enjoy the Bungalows’ area.

What are your next goals? What’s your vision of Creta Maris in the next years?

Creta Maris’ vision concerns its effective and responsible development, always based on the principles of Sustainability and on sound economic foundations, that will ensure the possibility for it to offer: high-quality accommodation services to its guests, safe work environment and prospects for its employees and continuous support for the local society and its people.