Hotel heir offers Lithuanians a dream vacation for 235 euros

“There has never been such a sad period in tourism,” says Konstantinos Kavvadias, a 23-year-old businessman from Corfu. Since he was little, he grew up watching his parents run a small three-star hotel in Bruskos in the village of Agios Georgios. And a few years ago, he took over the management of the place himself. The sole business heir had the dream of significantly renovating and popularizing a hotel across Europe, just 450 meters from the Ionian Sea, in 2019, but then everything was confused with the coronavirus and its consequences around the world. Massive booking cancellations began, eventually no guests were left, and business began to languish.

Konstantinos calls himself an optimist, so even in the face of difficulties, he did not cancel the renovation of the hotel, only slowed down. Of the 38 rooms, 17 were radically renovated, as well as the pool and the bar. Currently, the works are continuing, the remaining rooms and the common rooms of the hotel are waiting in line, but in order to have sufficient funds for this, Konstantinos must attract as many tourists as possible in any way. “Corfu is one of the first in Europe to open its borders, with more flights arriving from all over the country each week and cruise ships arriving,” he said, but admits that times are still quite difficult and sad. According to the young entrepreneur, the main task now for everyone who works in tourism is to show people who are intimidated by the virus that it is safe to travel when they are properly prepared, and they must also offer them extremely attractive prices.

“You have to create the conditions so that those who dream of a vacation do not even have doubts or it is worth flying on vacation. That’s what I want to do, ”says his host, who received me at his small hotel. For many years, Bruskos Hotel has focused on low-budget tourists who are not looking for luxury and cannot afford all-inclusive resorts. Among the guests who come here: British, German, French, Russian and Lithuanian. The family that manages this hotel collaborates with the tour operator of our country Novaturas, which orders charter flights from Vilnius to the island of Corfu every week.

“If there are people who save money in their country, if there are people who dream of flying to Greece, but have a small vacation budget, I suggest they come to us,” this young hotel manager addresses Lithuanians. It does not hide that it has agreed different room prices with the tour operators of each country, for example, Russians pay more than Germans or British, and Lithuanians also have an exclusive discount. What exactly is the price of one night? Konstantinos does not allow disclosure of confidentiality agreements, but offers to view the tour operator’s price list on the official website, which is accessible to everyone. “235 euros. 7 nights in a double room, not yet renovated. With roundtrip flights, with transfers to and from the airport, ”he said.

Showing rooms that welcome tourists for this amount, Konstantinos proudly emphasizes the advantages: separate bathroom and toilet, towels, toilet paper, soap, bedding, small fridge, kettle, cups, as well as a balcony with table and chairs.

He says that, in many cases, other cheap hotels in Corfu do not have such comfortable conditions. Also, according to the businessman, you will surely not get a pool with hammocks for such a quantity in Europe. “We have several long-term guests who can afford to work remotely. His days look perfect. They work, then they come to the pool to lie down, go back to work, walk to the sea, ”says the hotel manager.

Although it is called the quiet, family-run Hotel Bruskos, it increasingly attracts younger travelers. Especially double expensive renovated rooms for couples. “It seems to me that during this period, a lot of people avoid big, massive hotels, that’s why they come to us. We are surrounded by nature, we have our own garden, surrounded by olive groves and private summer houses, so I tell everyone what place to dream of escaping from a noisy environment, ”says Konstantinos. He realized that most Lithuanians are what they are: tired of work and want nothing but peace.

The 23-year-old man works the family business from morning to night, so he has no time to entertain himself and socialize with girls. “I don’t go almost anywhere, I interact a lot with the staff and our guests, especially now that the summer season has started,” he explains.