Athens Hotels’ Occupancies Trend Downward

June 2008 saw a 1.9 percent drop in average hotel occupancy rates in the Athens Attica region, according to recent figures released by the Hellenic Hotels Federation.

Five- and four-star hotels faced a decline in average occupancy at 5.5 percent and 4.2 percent respectively, compared with June 2007, while the occupancy of three- and two-star hotels increased by 0.8 percent and 0.7 percent respectively.

The highest occupancy rates in June were reported by three-star hotels, which peaked at 72.9 percent. During the first six months of 2008, the average occupancy rates at the top three hotel categories in Athens decreased by 1.9 percent.

According to European benchmarking (hotel occupancy rate of five-, four- and three-star hotels conducted by GBR Consulting), the January-June 2008 period showed a decline in the average occupancy by 1.9 percent but also a 6.1 percent increase of the average price charged per room and a 4.1 percent increase in revenue per available room.