A major cooperation agreement worth about 40 million EUR was signed this week between the Brown Hotels Collection and Israir Group. The deal includes the co-purchase of several properties in Greece, transforming them into boutique hotels in central Athens and beachfront resorts on the Greek Islands of Chania in Crete and Evia, close to Athens.
This is a first-of-its-kind collaboration between Israir and Brown Hotels. Both parties intend to further expand the partnership in the future by investing in additional hotels in Greece and elsewhere.
The joint initiative includes the acquisition, renovation, enhancement, operation, and marketing of co-purchased hotels, operated under the Brown Hotels brand. At the same time, Israir will offer its customers exclusive vacation packages.
On the Greek island of Crete, the new resort Isla Brown in Chania, will open by the end of 2022, with 175 rooms overlooking the sea, private pools, restaurants, a helipad, and more.
In Athens, the two Groups jointly purchased three hotels:
- Brown Museum is a boutique 93-room hotel adjacent to the Archaeological Museum of Athens, with historical touches, sculptures, artwork, and a designer conference hall.
- Brown Kubic is close to the National Theater of Greece, offering 112 rooms, a spa with a gym, and several conference halls. The hotel is already open, reporting high occupancy levels.
- My Athens is a 56-room hotel located in the city center, and the plans are to fully renovate the property and open it to the public in 18 months as a boutique hotel under the Brown brand.
Another jointly purchased hotel to open this month is Brown Beach Eretria, on the Greek island of Evia, the second-largest island after Crete and less than an hour’s drive from Athens. The new resort boasts 180 rooms, a beachfront location, and many family amenities.
All the new hotels will be integrated into the international lifestyle brand of the Brown Hotels Collection. In addition, through joint marketing with Israir’s sales and distribution network, the partnership between the Groups will create a significant synergetic potential for both the carrier’s and the hotel’s clients.
Both parties anticipate that the rapid recovery of global tourism from Coronavirus will help promote the new joint properties of Brown Hotels and Israir through strategic marketing and sales efforts by both sides.
Rami Levy, the controlling owner of Rami Levy Hashikma Marketing and Israir, praised the new agreement: “We are pleased to sign this cooperation and synergy agreement, as the combination of the companies’ strengths will reduce prices for the Israeli traveler and offer quality products at attractive prices to our customers.”
According to Uri Sirkis, CEO of Israir: “This partnership in hotel real estate with Brown Hotels is part of our broad business strategy, focused on the tourism product and aimed at diversifying our customers’ vacation options in our destinations. We are constantly working on expanding synergetic products to provide our customers with the perfect experience.”
Leon Avigad, founder and co-owner of the Brown Hotels Group, said: “We are happy to collaborate with Israir. This creates strategic synergy and provides cutting-edge, professional solutions to enhance our guests’ experience. Israir’s marketing platform, not only as an airline but also as a leading tourism company, with high-quality leadership and management, will help reduce costs for the Israeli traveler and streamline the top-of-the-line vacation experience provided by Brown Hotels collection in central Athens and other sought-after locations in the Greek Isles.”
Nir Waizman, co-owner of Brown Hotels, also noted: “We are witnessing a huge increase in the number of Israeli tourists traveling to Greece. Therefore, we try to further optimize infrastructure for travel packages, including urban hotels and island getaways, combining them with advanced and high-quality tourism and travel possibilities.”
