At a time when the shortage of specialized personnel is a problem for the European tourism industry, two leading hotel groups, Familux Resorts from Austria and Omicron Hotels from Crete, are joining forces.
Through a strategic alliance that officially began the 2024/2025 winter season, the two groups are implementing an innovative employee-sharing model, turning the disadvantage of seasonality into a comparative advantage.
Countercyclical Cooperation
The logic behind the collaboration is simple but brilliant: exploiting the “counter-cyclicality” of the tourist seasons between Southern and Central Europe.
Omicron Hotels, known for its luxury resorts in Crete such as Acro Suites and Sea Side A Lifestyle Resort, is in full swing during the summer months (April to October). Similarly, Familux Resorts, leaders in luxury family tourism with properties such as Dachsteinkönig in Austria and The Grand Green in Germany, experience peak demand during the winter due to skiing and winter vacations.
Until recently, workers in Crete faced unemployment during the winter months, while hotels in the Alps struggled to find staff for the season. The new model bridges this gap: Omicron employees move to the Alps in the winter and return to Crete in the summer.
Ensuring Income and Career Without Borders
The initiative’s greatest benefit is found in its human resources. Employees, mainly in the food and beverage and service sectors, now have a 12-month employment contract and a stable income, breaking the vicious cycle of seasonal unemployment.
At the same time, the program acts as a career accelerator. As Omicron Hotels management points out, experience in a demanding, international environment like that of Familux Resorts provides Greek employees with valuable expertise and exposure to different hospitality cultures.
The General Manager of Acro Suites (Omicron Hotels), Mr. Michael Markakis said, “For our employees, working with Familux is an excellent opportunity to gain international experience and develop their skills while maintaining their position in the Omicron family.”
Win-Win for Business
For hoteliers, this partnership solves the staffing puzzle. Familux Resorts, through Talent Director Julia Reingruber, emphasizes that access to already trained and experienced staff from Greece drastically reduces the time and cost of training new employees every winter. Additionally, job security creates loyal employees, reducing the turnover rate, which is a plague for the industry.
A Model for the Future?
As the pilot phase was a success in December 2025, market players are watching the project with interest. The expansion of the program to other hotels in the network points the way to a pan-European solution to the problem of seasonality.
In a Europe where worker mobility is a priority, the partnership between Familux and Omicron proves that tourism can provide sustainable and quality jobs year-round, as long as there is a vision and willingness to collaborate beyond borders.
