Honored Guest Services Airport – Athens International Airport

  1. HIGHLIGHTS

Period of operation: 20 June – 5 July

Total number of guests: 2100

Number of paid staff: 1

Number of Volunteers: 50

Cooperating departments: Airport Services, Transportation, Honored guest services, State VIP lounge.

General remarks

Overall the operation of the Welcome and greeting of honored guest was run smoothly. The service was constantly appraised by the clients involved.

Volunteers:

The volunteers assigned to this operation worked methodically with great passion and sometimes above their assigned schedule. Spirits were always high, even in periods of great stress particularly the first week of the arrivals.

Volunteers apart from the first couple of general training sessions, were given specific on the spot training in order to familiarize themselves with the specific needs and conditions of the Athens International Airport.

Transport

Transportation was a great challenge for everybody. Honored guest services-Airport were the main provider of clients to the shuttle buses and individual cars towards the hotels of the honored guests. The honored guests assigned to cars did not suffer any particular delays, the problem arose for those assigned to buses.

The communication with the transport manager of the airport and the transport HQ was very good and constant and within their finite means it was possible to handle the extra demand with the best possible way so as to diminish as possible the dishearted guests. The large majority of the honored guests dealt with the situation in good spirit and were very cooperative, and understanding.

State VIP Lounge

The VIP lounge operation was run also with no problems. The collaboration with the State VIP lounge employees was exemplifying. At almost all arrivals different volunteers were present to greet our Honored guests entitled to the State VIP lounge. Their presence was used as a bonus for their hard work.

Airport Services

Our service was supported from the Airport Services. That collaboration again went smoothly. The Airport manager, and his staff was supportive to our operation and when needed in times of great traffic in the airport the support was very much appreciated in the carousels (greeting area).

SOI liaison

The presence of an SOI liaison during the period of arrival was very useful in the respect that given transport was handled by both SOI and GOC the liaison was able to provide the SOI part of the story and in that way to facilitate the service. Additionally, they could provide us with specific details for some guests so as to make their identification easier. There were cases that the guests themselves assisted in the process since they travelled together with other guests or they were beholders of travel information that was not yet represented in the lists that the service had in hand.

Departures

During the departures volunteers were placed in visible points in the departure area so as to be able to assist any honored guest that required help. Given that no particular drop off point was assigned, nor specific time schedule for their arrivals existed there was no ability for a more customized service. However, volunteers reported that very few guests actually either required any sort of assistance or made their presence noticeable apart from thanking us and wishing us all the best.

A highlight during the departure period was the ability of the volunteers to socialize with the departing athletes. For many was that was the only chance they got, given the specific scope of their work in the airport. Both volunteers and athletes were greatly appreciative of that. Volunteers were particularly happy since these athletes were the reason that they volunteered in the first place and in that way they finished their service with a reminder of what Special Olympics is all about! Getting to know and supporting those special individuals!

  1. VENUEMAJOR ISSUES & RECOMMENDATIONS

List all major issues encountered by your venue team during the Games and your recommendations on how to resolve/avoid these issues

No / Issue Description / Recommendation
1 / All issues that came up were dealt on the spot with the best possible way. The honored guest coordinator was in constant communication with all the action spots and in that way the response rate to arising issues was very fast, and efficient.
The main problem of the operation was the arrival of quite a few honored guests whose names were not included in the lists provided by the transport department. This created a twofold problem. Volunteers were not able to identify the guest in question since they were not in the lists that they were in possession and secondly these guests were not assigned to any transport. The way we dealt with these issues was that the meet and greet people apart from the customized lollypops with the names of the guests were always alert for extra people and were using generic Special Olympics signs so as to be able to attract all guests arriving. When a guest identified themselves and was not in the list, then volunteers contacted the Honored Guest airport coordinator so as to be advised for the status of the gest and whether he/she should wait for the next bus or there was a possibility to be taken to his hotel with a shared car. The most common solution to the transport issue was that guests were advised to wait in a particular area in the arrivals lounge for the next bus to their destination, informed at the same time that since their name was not in the list we could not guarantee their transport. At that specific point a volunteer was assigned to accompany all the guests waiting and provide all possible information and making the wait as much enjoyable as possible.
However NO guest was left behind. / Name lists of whom to expect and when is a crucial tool of the job of meet and greet service at the airport. Lists that are accurate and updated is essential for the smooth functioning of the service. The quality of the lists affects the quality of service not only of the honored guest services but also transport and all other cooperating services.
  1. MAJOR CROSSFUNCTIONAL ISSUES

List all (if any) major issues encountered between the FAs working in the venue team during the Games and/or other issues observed during the ATHENS 2011 Special Olympics World Summer Games

No / Functional Area / Issue Description
1

1