Lower H1 Occupancy Rates Concern Athens Hoteliers

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

Occupancy levels and revenue per room at hotels in Athens recorded a 3.8 percent and 2.9 percent decline, respectively, in the first half of the year, according to data released on Tuesday, by the Athens – Attica & Argosaronic Hotel Association in collaboration with GBR Consulting. 

More specifically, occupancy dropped by 3.8 percent, revenue per available room (RevPar) by 2.9 percent with average room rate (ARR) increasing marginally by 1.0 percent in the January-June 2019 period.

According to the report’s analysts, a negative trend in occupancy by up to 8.6 percent was recorded in every single month, indicating a turn in demand and an oversupply of rooms in the Greek capital. Indicatively, ARR and RevPar in June dropped by 5 percent barely maintaining last year’s 0.9 percent occupancy level.

The data is also backed by the Hellenic Chamber of Hotels, which reported last month lower first-quarter occupancy rates and early bookings for Greek hotels for the 2019 summer season. 

Source: Athens – Attica & Argosaronic Hotel Association, GBR Consulting

The Athens – Attica & Argosaronic Hotel Association is calling on the government to re-design the country’s tourism strategy and to set new targets based on recorded priorities.

“Athens receives the largest volume of visitor arrivals – approximately 8,200,000 – as the most important international gateway to our country… The increase in visitor arrivals recorded in recent years is inconsistent with the downward hotel occupancy levels seen since the end of 2018 in Athens,” the association said in a statement, calling on the tourism ministry and local government officials to take immediate action an address “the unregulated tourism development in Athens, together with all its byproducts and chronic problems – safety – cleanliness – special infrastructure – that undermine the modern and competitive tourist identity of our city”.