Athens Q1 2019 Hotel Performance on the Downside

Athens, Greece. Photo Source: Visit Greece/ Y. Skoulas

Athens hotel occupancy rates dropped by 6.8 percent in the first quarter of the year, with revenue per available room (RevPAR) down by 6.8 percent, said the Athens – Attica & Argosaronic Hotel Association this week.

More specifically, according to the association’s monthly bulletin released in collaboration with GBR Consulting, occupancy rates in January 2019 decreased by 8.7 percent with the average room rate down by 1.6 percent, and by 10.2 percent in terms of RevPAR.

February occupancy levels dropped by 1.9 percent, with a 1.8 percent increase in average room rate, and a 0.1 percent decrease in RevPAR, while March marked a 9.1 percent fall in occupancy, 0.1 percent in average room rate, and 9.2 percent drop in RevPAR.

Source: GBR Consulting

Hotel figures and performance data for the first quarter of 2019 were down in every month, “confirming forecasts for the reversal of last year’s positive climate and the beginning of yet another problematic period for Athens”, said the association.

In a statement, the Athens – Attica & Argosaronic Hotel Association, representing hoteliers in and around the Greek capital, are calling on the government, tourism officials and local authorities to take measures against the “unprecedented tourist development in Athens”.

“The Athens hotel industry, which is constantly being burdened with strict operating standards, increasing taxation, regular and extraordinary contributions, estimates that decreasing hotel prices and revenues in some cases exceeding 30 percent or even 40 percent does not make for a good start, not only for 2019, but also for the future,” the association said, additionally pointing to the “unequal treatment of hotels against other tourist accommodation facilities – illegal, semi-legal or ‘new type’ while creating a series of new problems with regard to safety, employment, and operating standards”.