The fullness in the hotels of Athens is recovering

of Vicky Kourlimbini

The year is currently developing very well for the hotels of Athens, with an increase in occupancy and positive forecasts for the coming months. However, the performance for the hotel market of the capital is still far from the numbers of 2019, which was a record year for Greek tourism.

According to data from the Athens, Attica and Saronic Gulf Hoteliers Association, the four-month period ended with a drop of 33.6% in Fullness, 36.3% in Revenue per Available Room (RevPar) and 4.1% in the Average Room Price, compared to the corresponding four months of 2019. During this period, the average occupancy was 44.9%, the average room price 85 euros and the RevPAR 38.2 euros.

The average occupancy gradually increased from 26.9% to 50% in the first quarter, while in April it reached 65%. However, it remained 19% lower than in 2019 (which was 80%). According to the Union, the decrease of RevPar in the first 4 months of 2022 (by 36.3% compared to 2019) is mainly due to this fact, ie the low occupancy levels during the first three months of 2022.

Overall, the YTD April occupancy levels were 33.6% and room rates 4.1% lower in 2022 compared to the corresponding period of 2019.

How the competitors moved

From the beginning of the year until April, all the competing Mediterranean cities such as Rome, Barcelona, ​​Madrid and Istanbul recorded higher levels of occupancy and room rates than Athens. More specifically, Rome achieved fullness of 47% and Average Daily Rate or ADR (Average Daily Rate) € 149 respectively, Barcelona 55% and € 124, Madrid 56% and € 116 and Istanbul fullness 64% and ADR € 97 in comparison with Athens which had a fullness of 45% and ADR € 85.

No comparisons can be made

Corresponding performance is recorded by the ‘research-panel’ of XEE / ITEP that was conducted nationwide, in terms of Athens, where during the period December 2021-April 2022 the Average occupancy did not exceed 39% in the open hotels of Attica and 36.7% in set of hotels in Attica. The average room rate was around 77 euros.

However, as the Hoteliers Association of Athens, Attica and Argosaronikos points out, any comparisons with the data of 2021-2020, do not lead to correct conclusions, as the performance of 2022 is compared with the performance of years in which, for short or longer periods, many – or all the hotels remained closed.

The forecasts

The businessmen of the markets see a good summer ahead of them, due to the rise of tourism, but there are also concerns. “We have to be moderately optimistic as it is too early to draw conclusions about the autumn and winter ahead of us: Reservations are still very low, conferences – which we have mentioned many times in the past – are a key part of “We are not yet sure how they will be implemented, while at the same time, the oversupply of beds of all kinds that ‘open’ and are announced on a daily basis, can only worry us,” the Union notes.