Dimitris Efthimiou, Guest Service Manager

Meet the person responsible for making your stay at Creta Maris as memorable as it gets.

Working to facilitate other people’s vacations. What’s the most demanding part of your job?

The most demanding part of my job is to maintain guests’ satisfaction on the highest possible level and make their vacation an incredible one. In order to achieve this goal, me and my team communicate with as many guests as possible throughout the day, so as to respond to their needs. Our job is full of surprises, involves a lot of interaction with people and therefore it’s an emotional rollercoaster.

What are the most important skills and qualities of a guest service professional?

In my opinion the most important skill someone needs in order to be successful in Guests’ Service is empathy and the ability to predict the needs of the guests before they express them. However, there are many other standard qualities that make the perfect guest service professional: persuasive speaking, positive attitude, adaptability and flexibility, good listening skills, responsibility, patience, effective time-management, good knowledge of the hotel, and last but not least, the “thick-skin” ability.

Could you name one thing that you really love about your job?

I really love being a people person and exceeding my guests’ expectations. I am the first and the last person the guests meet during their stay. It is a unique feeling to hear that you played a great role in creating a memorable stay for your guests, making them want to return. Also, in order to proceed with all the necessary arrangements for any kind of service, most of the times, I still have to communicate with the rest of the management team and with my colleagues. I really enjoy my work, as it fits my character and makes me a better person in my personal life.

What in your opinion makes Creta Maris such a popular resort, with guests visiting it repeatedly from year to year? And how, in your opinion, do you and your team contribute to that?

It is a blessing that I work in one of the most historic and well-known hotels in my country, with a unique tradition in hospitality. The hotel is changing through the years with important renovations, great improvements, and new services, but in a very responsible way, and with the goal of not losing any of the characteristics or values that our guests love. For me, the most important reason why the guests come back to Creta Maris is its people. Everybody talks about the staff all day long. You can easily find hotels that welcome back repeat guests by mentioning their names, but what happens in Creta Maris is just magic. Guests remember staff names and right after their check-in, they try to get in contact with them, but what happens in Creta Maris is just magic. I must admit that the chemistry between guests and employees in Creta Maris is unbelievable.

“In Creta Maris we create special and memorable moments for each of our guests”

A day in Creta Maris summarizes the reasons why someone must choose Crete as their travelling destination, i.e. the culture, the authentic way of life, the local traditions, the hospitality, the local people, that genuine smile.
I believe that as a team we are really successful in offering almost personalized guest assistance and services to a very large number of guests. Each guest feels important and at the end of the day we receive extremely positive feedback regarding the politeness, handling methods and hard efforts of the guest service team. Also, it is important to note that both the General Manager and the Assistant General Manager acknowledge our efforts each time we have positive feedback from the guests. It is really important to receive positive comments and feeling appreciated.

A story you would like to share from your work experience as a Guest Service Manager of Creta Maris, something funny or special for you.

I have many stories to remember from my working experience but the most special one this year, concerns a request for a candlelight dinner. Specifically, we were requested to organize a tailormade surprise candlelight dinner, with a special decoration, by the sea, during sunset. The couple was fascinated by the dinner and the wife was crying full of happiness as “everything was like a movie”. During their stay, we kept daily contact and many of their requests were easily handled, but the most important thing was that their children were having the greatest time of their life.

On the last day of their stay they said, that they were about to visit another hotel in order to see other parts of the island too. Two days after their departure, they called their travel agent and asked to come back to Creta Maris, since they, and especially their children, couldn’t find the same level of hospitality in the other hotel. They came back and I still remember their full of relief faces. They hugged us and you could easily understand that they were feeling like they were back home; safe, happy, and ready to spend again a great time in Creta Maris.

Next day the husband came into my office asking if we could organize another surprise for his family. This time it concerned a family video created by him and which he asked to be shown in our open-air cinema. Also, he asked me to invite his family to the Cinema without revealing the surprise. In order to do so, we organized a small cocktail party at the entrance of the cinema, in order to meet the family and ask them about their stay experience. For this purpose, I even created a false cocktail invitation. Eventually, everything happened according to the plan, and they all watched together a perfect family video, creating priceless memories. And like most of the stories in Creta Maris, during their departure they said that they will definitely come back next year. This story is so important to me as a Guest Service Manager, because it proves that in Creta Maris we create special and memorable moments for each of our guests.