PERSONALITIES
In Athens ’ Parisian-like Plaka neighborhood , Villa Brown Ermou with 51 rooms offers an intimate boutique experience and represents the first Villa Brown outside of Israel .
experiences , as well as an amazing breakfast with a big local emphasis ,” he says , adding the F & B is operated separately because it is a different business than rooms .
But like so many today , Brown has recognized the value of content , even throwing funky and sponsored pre-Shabbat parties in Jerusalem . “ We donate our rooftops very freely to pop-ups , fashion designers , artists … Then the rumors start and locals know that it ’ s not just a marketing decision … It ’ s something that comes from the bottom of the heart . This is who we are . And when we recruit our management team and our content managers , it ’ s genuine . I think that we are the only hotels in the world with job descriptions like director of good times .”
It should come as no surprise , then , that Avigad winces when hotels are referred to as simply assets . Yes , he realizes he needs to sell rooms , but he wants it to be more than that . “ I admire authenticity and believing in it in what you do wholeheartedly . 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 .”
Maybe that is why Avigad closes by talking about training his teams not to smile without genuine emotion . “ But just to open your eyes and to have a mimic or gesture that will reflect openness rather than just smiling in a fake way .”
96 hotelsmag . com November / December 2021