Thanos Michaelides, CEO of Thanos Hotels & Resorts, gave an inside view of running a family business in Cyprus at “The Development of Family Businesses,” a conference hosted by AUB Mediterraneo in Paphos on 6 November 2026. He spoke for the next generation, alongside a company founder and a non-family executive, and joined the closing panel.
Fifty Years, Three Generations
His talk followed the group from its first hotel in Famagusta, built by his father Alecos Michaelides in 1972, to a new start in Paphos in 1974 with the Paphos Beach Hotel. Annabelle opened in 1985, Anassa in 1998 and Almyra in 2003. The boutique Amyth brand followed with Mykonos in 2023 and Nicosia in 2025, and Antasia Beach Club brings a day-to-night beach experience to Paphos. Today the group has eight properties in Cyprus and Greece and more than 1,100 employees from 47 nationalities, and it is still owned and run by the family. Next comes Berengaria in the Troodos mountains, reopening in 2029.
Ownership, Management and Stewardship
His central message was that you can resign from the company, but never from the family. The three second-generation siblings hold equal shares on the board, while an executive team of family and non-family leaders runs the business day to day. His son Alexandros has now joined Business Development, so the family is preparing for the third generation. Ideas under consideration include a family council and clear entry rules, such as gaining work experience outside the company first.
Generations, Not Quarters
He closed with Nishiyama Onsen Keiunkan in Japan, a hotel run by one family for 52 generations. His point was that a business lasts when each generation looks after what it inherits for the people who come next.
Explore the conference programme and speakers on Cyprus Mail