With the vibrant boom in Athens’ hotel scene, independent boutique hotels are thriving, yet face unique challenges in an increasingly competitive market. We met Omar Sawaf, Co-Founder and CEO of SirFrog Hospitality, at Cohort—previously known as The Dilan—an Athens property that SirFrog transformed into a thriving boutique destination.
In this interview, Omar shares the story behind SirFrog’s creation and their “Hospitality as a Service” model, which empowers independent hotels with streamlined operations, personalized guest experiences, and sustainable practices. From supporting small hotel owners to redefining boutique hospitality, Omar reveals how SirFrog is reshaping the industry in Greece and beyond.
Omar Sawaf – Co-founder & CEO SirFrog Hospitality Photo: Nina Clades
What inspired the creation of SirFrog Hospitality, and what gap did you identify in the hospitality market?
While operating an 11-room aparthotel in the center of Athens, we really understood how tough it is to operate a hotel of any size. Whether 110 rooms or 11 rooms, you need a lot of people with different skill sets to maximize the profitability of the hotel and we realized quickly how most independent hotels do not have the capacity, bandwidth, or the talent to be able to fulfill them all. However, if you look at the hotel asset class in Europe, 87% of hotels are independently branded. 90% in Greece. That is a lot of hotels that are small (less than 50 keys) and whose owners are also operating them. And we speak to these owners regularly. They are fatigued from this 365/24/7 business. They have no HQ to lean on for support and they are doing as many roles as possible to keep their cost structure low. We figured that with the right technology and business model hyper-focused on these owners, we can alleviate a lot of their pain points, increase their revenues, reduce their costs, enhance and personalize the guest experience and to be honest give them their lives back.
How does SirFrog differentiate itself from other hospitality management companies? What is your unique selling point?
Our unique selling point is our hospitality as a service approach (HaaS). We not only digitally transform each hotel, but we do so while operating them. We are looking at each independent hotel both as a one-of-one hotel, and also as a contributing member of a portfolio of hotels. We are utilizing proprietary technology alongside existing tools and software to maximize economies of scale and ultimately increase the financial returns. And we do sowhile ensuring the best guest experience for that hotel.
What core services does SirFrog offer to hoteliers and clients? Is a complete rebrand necessary, or can properties opt for selective services like revenue management or digital transformation without a full 360-degree approach?
For small independent hotel owners, building and maintaining trust is very important. This is why we listen to theirs concerns, needs and vision for their hotel. Based on this exchange, we tailor make a host of services to bring it to life. We either provide limited services such as revenue management, andconcept development or the full 360-approach of digital transformation and operations. A recurring realization is that each owner’s hotel brand is dear to their heart and a rebrand although at times beneficial to the hotel is not mandatory to improve its financial returns. This is why we ensure that the uniqueness of each brand is kept at all times.
(From left to right) Adam Rafeh (Co-founder & CFO), Danai Ibrahim (Head of Growth & Marketing), Manal Syriani (Operations Lead), Themi Pslatopoulos (Head of Community), and Omar Sawaf (Co-founder & CEO). Photo: Angelos Giotopoulos Creative Director: Paola Gemayel
How does SirFrog support both hotel operations and guest experience enhancement simultaneously?
As stated, an owner has a lot to do to manage their hotel. While we digitize, automate and centralize a lot of the day-to-day work, our on-site community management team can focus on enhancing the guest experience.
How does SirFrog help properties increase their booking rates and overall revenue?
Revenue and reservation management is both science and art. One has to ensure that room rates are updated dynamically, distribution and visibility is maximized, direct bookings are improved, dependency on OTAs is reduces while ensuring the guest booking journey is easy and seamless. Having a centralized specialized team taking care of the nuts and bolts can have an immediate impact on the overall revenues of the hotel.
Can you share a success story where SirFrog transformed the performance of a hotel? What were the key results?
The Dilan to Cohort
Rebranded: The property was rebranded under the Cohort name (a brand owned by SirFrog), which significantly boosted its visibility and credibility in the market.
Improved Operational Management: SirFrog took over full operations of the property under a 12-year lease contract, transforming day-to-day activities to optimize efficiency and enhance guest satisfaction.
Renovated Lobby: Reimagined the lobby space to operate as a multifunctional area, including a café where guests can wait, work, eat, drink and shop curated local products.
Enhanced Social Media: Ran more engaging social media channels with dedicated resources being used to create and manage content and customer engagement.
Created New Partnerships and Ancillary Services: Partnered with the local community to provide transportation, experiences, health and wellness, pet amenities and a local F&B establishment to provide high-quality breakfast.
Upgraded Distribution: Added several new distribution sources such as OTAs and meta search with more links to direct booking.
Implemented Revenue Management System: Created a revenue management strategy that provided dynamic pricing tailored to market demand and increased visibility and rankings in OTAs and Meta search sites.
Upgraded Technology Stack: SirFrog leveraged its proprietary technology to optimize the entire tech stack while adding new tools to facilitate smoother operations, better working environment for the team, and improved guest experiences.
Photo: Angelos Giotopoulos Creative Director: Paola Gemayel
Why should luxury or boutique independent hotels choose SirFrog? What specific features make your company the go-to solution for these properties?
On a guest experience perspective, we are a multi-talented global trotting team delivering distinctively creative, personalized and flexible solutions. We are using technology to power our hospitality service while utilizing our reach and network to partner with businesses in the city that provide a localized experience.
On an operational perspective, it is a bit different. I came from an engineering and contracting background. We were profitable because we controlled our costs. Nothing more nothing less. At SirFrog, we are taking the same approach. If we ensure an effectively managed cost structure, then we can maintain a certain level of profitability. This is why we structure our management contracts differently where we take the onus of all operating costs on ourselves and charge the owners a percentage of revenues.
What does SirFrog consider the key factors in guest satisfaction? How do you handle personalization of the guest experience across different properties?
We believe that guest satisfaction is rooted in our team’s ability to personalize each guest experience. We don’t just focus on delivering a good review; our goal is to create memorable moments that guests will cherish long after their stay. It’s about offering the kind of hospitality you would extend when welcoming someone into your own home; warm, thoughtful, and genuine.
Personalization is at the heart of what we do, and this extends across all of our properties. Whether in Athens or soon in Portugal, we tailor the experience to fit the unique character of each hotel while ensuring the same level of personal care. We collect insights from guest interactions to understand their preferences and anticipate their needs, using technology-driven recommendations to make their stay feel uniquely crafted for them.
Ultimately, we believe that great hospitality is more than just service, it’s about making every guest feel seen, valued, and comfortable, just as they would be in their own home.
“At SirFrog we can assist as partners throughout the entire life journey of the hotel: from concept creation, to pre-opening and to operation and management.”
How do you envision SirFrog evolving as the hospitality industry moves towards sustainability and increased digital integration?
Great question. Sustainability is something we hold very dear at SirFrog. We are the first hotel to partner with Hotels for Trees in Greece, where we plant a tree for every occupied room night the guest forgoes housekeeping.
In one of our properties, an 11-room hotel, we have since the beginning of the year planted 255 trees. This is just the beginning. Other than reducing and eliminating single-use plastics, we are also looking at carbon offsetting and utilizing renewable energy sources to power our hotels. With our development partners, we look at attaining sustainable building certifications such as LEED.
What are the biggest opportunities for innovation in the hospitality industry, and how does SirFrog plan to address these trends?
The hospitality industry is complicated. Hotels are effectively pieces of real estate with multiple stakeholders: owners, operators, users, neighbors, local communities, and even municipalities. There are opportunities to innovate and to service each one of these stakeholders. This is why at SirFrog, we are looking with a 360-degree lens as the problem we are solving for is truly B2B2C.
What should a guest expect when staying at a hotel under powered by SirFrog?
Historically, independent hotels have been given a bad rep because of a lack of reliability. What you see and expect is not what you get. First and foremost, we want the SirFrog association with any independent hotel to immediately instill a sense of trust and reliability in our guests. We take pride in personalizing every guest experience, ensuring that each stay is uniquely tailored to meet their specific needs.
Secondly, travelers and guests, unless crazy about those loyalty points would rather stay at a small independent hotel because let’s face it who wants to stay at a chain hotel in the center of Athens that looks just like the one in Atlanta, Georgia. Sophisticated guests want a unique and localized experience. With our partnerships, we can provide weather inside or outsidethe property, access to the local cool F&B spot, bar and even a gym and our best city recommendations.
What challenges does Sir Frog typically face when taking over the management of a hotel, and how do you navigate them to ensure success?
Once we sign the final agreement with an owner, the turnaround of any property is short and painless. A lot of the work happens before then where we complete a thorough due diligence both legally and technically on the property. The digital transformation and the guest experience are things that we take charge of, implement and enhance; but we need to make sure that the property is a sound one on an infrastructure level.
For hotels under SirFrog’s management, do you maintain their original branding and identity, or do they operate under the Sir Frog name? Could you clarify what “Cohort” entails in this context?
All properties remain independently branded and are “Powered by SirFrog”. If the owner is looking for a rebrand, we have our in-house Cohort brand which we can use to bring a new life and energy to the property.
How do you see the hospitality scene evolving in Athens, and what role does SirFrog play in shaping this landscape?
We have been in the Athenian and Greek market for a few years now and it has been amazing to see its evolution and renaissance the past several years. It is bubbling with energy, new conceptsand people from all over the world. It has been amazing to see. At SirFrog, we are taking part of this evolution by revolutionizing the hotel management industry.
In your opinion, what is the biggest challenge a new small hotel in Athens needs to overcome, and how can SirFrog assist in that process?
A new hotel faces many challenges throughout its lifecycle. There are thousands of decisions an owner must take to bring their hotel to life; branding and storytelling, programming and design, material and systems selection, and finally operations and management. We at SirFrog can assist as partners throughout the entire life journey of the hotel: from concept creation, to pre-opening and to operation and management.
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