Athens’ Hotel Room Stock to Grow by 1,000 Beds by 2021

By 2021, some 1,000 beds are expected to be added to the hotel room stock of Athens, according to international hospitality consulting company Horwath HTL.

Speaking to journalists during a press conference for the upcoming Mediterranean Resort & Hotel Real Estate Forum (MR&H) 2019 in Athens, Horwath’s country director, Xenophon Petropoulos, underlined that (according to investment projects in progress) 2,000 new beds are estimated to be added to the hotel sector of Athens during the 2019 – 2021 period.

“Already, 1,000 beds entered the Athens hotel market since last year and we expect another 1,000 by 2021,” Petropoulos said, underlining the fact that Athens, as the rest of Greece, has shown great potential in recent years.

Horwath HTL Greece Country Director Xenophon Petropoulos.

Presenting key facts of the investment evolution of Greece’s hotel industry, Petropoulos said that some 2 billion euros have been invested in the country’s main tourism destinations in the last five years with a 6.57 percent increase in hotel beds and 31.5 percent growth in 5-star hotels.

“From this data, we can understand that the sector is aiming to boost the quality of Greek tourism and create more five-star hotels to attract affluent customers that will spend more money,” he said.

8,06% of Greek hotels belong to a group or brand

However, Petropoulos underlined that while the country’s hospitality market shows great potential for further growth, the entrance of leading international brands in the Greek hotel sector still remains at a low level.

“Only 8,06 percent of the total of Greek hotels are part of a group or a brand , with the rest of Greece’s hotels being independent hotels, small units and family businesses” he said.

Petropoulos did, however, mention that over the last two years international brands have been exploring ways to increase their presence in Greece by either entering the market for the first time or by expanding their presence.

MR&H Forum 2019

This falls into the the aim of the MR&H Forum 2019, which we be held for the second time in Athens, in late October. The event’s main goal is to “connect” the Greek hospitality sector with its global hotel investors, operators and advisers.

It should be mentioned that initial talks for the deal that eventually led to Blackstone Real Estate Partners acquiring five properties of Louis Hotels in Greece, began at last year’s MR&H Forum in Athens.

The MR&H Forum 2019 is expected to attract some 400 attendees and 90 speakers. Twenty-nine countries will be represented while approximately 220 billion euros of hotel assets under management will be attending.

Greece’s official investment promotion agency, Enterprise Greece, currently has some 250 hotel and tourism projects available for development in its portfolio.