PERSONALITIES
The 165-room Brown Acropol in Athens , Greece , has four rooftop hot tubs open for guests both day and night .
I ADMIRE PEOPLE THAT DO THINGS VERY PASSIONATELY . I THINK THAT BEING COOL IS GREAT , BUT BEING TOO COOL TO THE EXTENT OF NOT REALLY CARING IS NOT FUN . I WOULD LIKE ALL MY HOTELS TO BE REAL , TO REFLECT REAL EXPERIENCES , REAL EMOTIONS AND TO BE SOULFUL .
– LEON AVIGAD
CREATIVITY MATTERS Of course , everyone has suffered through the pandemic and COVID has delayed many a plan , but again Brown Hotels made another key move , having before the pandemic sold a 20 % stake to a large institutional insurance company in Israel . “ It was an amazing show of confidence to what we do ,” Avigad says . “ Never has any institutional , listed company in the very strong stock market of Israel backed up a hotel business , and especially a boutique hotel business . This was a huge stamp of faith in what we do , and we ’ re very proud of it .” It also proved very important to sustain their growth with COVID hitting hard .
Avigad and his team , like so many , also pivoted during COVID , launching extended-stay programs that attracted families and people of all ages looking to get away . “ Brown was first intended to be funky , cool , savvy , fun-loving party-going spot for 35- to 55-year-olds . And all of a sudden , we ’ re attracting families , empty nesters and long stays – segments we never touched before . And this is what helped us overcome the pandemic .”
Understanding early on that the pandemic was not
94 hotelsmag . com November / December 2021