Greek Hotels to Go on the Auction Block in 2018

Some 40 hotels will go up for auction in the first half of the year due to defaults on bank loans.

According to Greek newspaper Ta Nea, which has cited data from sources including local hotelier associations, the hotels set to go on the auction block include seven units on Crete, six on Rhodes and Kos, six on Corfu, Lefkada, Zakynthos and Skiathos, one in Halkidiki and about 20 in other Greek destinations.

The report adds that the majority of hotels are heavily indebted and are unable to service the loan amounts borrowed which are larger in relation to their value. Moreover, all hotels are mortgaged.

The first wave of hotel auctions across Greece began in December, mainly by Greek banks and some private suppliers, and are expected to be completed by July.

According to bank sources and the Greek Tourism Confederation (SETE), non-performing loans (NPLs) of hotels currently add up to some 3 billion euros, out of a total 8 billion euros in loans to the Greek tourism sector in general. Some 20 major hotel chains are said to represent half of the NPLs (some 1.5 billion euros) in the Greek hotel sector.