Athens Hotels See Positive Growth Despite August Occupancy Decline

Athens, Greece.

Despite a fourth consecutive month of declining occupancy in August, hotels in Athens and Attica reported a strong overall performance for the first eight months of the year.

According to the Athens-Attica & Argosaronic Hotel Association, the average occupancy for the January-August period increased by 1.9 percentage points, rising to 77.5 percent from 76.1 percent in 2023.

The association highlights that this year’s positive trend is largely driven by the strength of off-peak months.

“This sends a strong message about the year-round potential of Athens tourism and reinforces our long-held belief in the need to improve both general and specialized infrastructure, such as conference centers,” the association said. “Better utilizing the currently underdeveloped winter season, and promoting city-break and niche tourism across the region, is critical.”

Athens also performed well compared to its traditional competitors. The city’s average hotel occupancy of 77.5 percent surpassed that of Paris (72.9 percent), Rome (71.5 percent), Madrid (74.2 percent), and Istanbul (66.8 percent). Only Barcelona (79.2 percent) and London (79.7 percent) posted higher occupancy rates.

Tourists in Athens turning to 3-star hotels

Another noteworthy trend in the 2024 data is the continued popularity of more budget-friendly three-star hotels.

According to the association’s data, the city’s three-star hotels achieved an impressive average occupancy of 84.4 percent over the eight months, and 86.8 percent in August alone.

“This growing demand for three-star accommodation reveals important market trends worth noting,” the association noted.

August occupancy decline, Hoteliers blame short-term rentals

On a less positive note, the hotel association highlighted a downward trend in occupancy rates over the past four months.

Specifically, average hotel occupancy for August 2024 closed at 79.8 percent, reflecting a 2.1 percentage point drop compared to August 2023, and the same decrease compared to August 2022.

The decline follows similar downward trends observed in July (-1.9 percent compared to July 2023), June (-1.5 percent compared to June 2023), and May (-2.7 percent compared to May 2023).

The Athens-Attica hotel association attributes this decline to “the significant number of visitors opting for alternative accommodations, particularly short-term rentals”. It points out that a substantial portion of visitors to Athens likely bypass hotels in favor of the 137,499 beds available through 34,295 registered short-term rental properties, as recorded on the Airbnb platform for Attica.

ADR & RevPAR performance

In terms of pricing, Athens hotels saw improvements in both the average daily rate (ADR) and revenue per available room (RevPAR) over the first eight months of 2024. The average room price during january-August increased by 9.1 percent, reaching 150.34 euros, compared to 137.79 euros in the same period in 2023. For August 2024 alone, the average room price rose to 158.36 euros. RevPAR increased by 11.2 percent, reaching 116.58 euros for the eight-month period, and 126.34 euros for August.

Athens’ performance in ADR and RevPAR during the first eight months of 2024 exceeded that of Vienna (ADR: 130.59 euros, RevPAR: 90.11 euros), Berlin (ADR: 123.16 euros, RevPAR: 87.94 euros), and Istanbul (ADR: 132.85 euros, RevPAR: 88.74 euros).

However, Athens still lags behind other major cities like Rome (ADR: 235.16 euros), Paris (ADR: 347.63 euros), London (ADR: 225.31 euros), Amsterdam (ADR: 175.32 euros), Madrid (ADR: 163.44 euros), and Barcelona (ADR: 188.70 euros).

‘Overwhelmingly positive’ feedback from visitors

According to the association, feedback from both hotel performance data and guest responses in the “Guest Satisfaction” survey conducted among its member hotels is “overwhelmingly positive”. This suggests that Athens and its nearby islands have the potential to significantly boost their standing as tourism destinations.

“However, for Athens to fully capitalize on this potential, a long-term tourism development strategy is essential. This includes upgrading daily life in the city, improving the sense of safety, ensuring harmonious coexistence between residents and visitors, and modernizing the tourism offering through targeted investments and infrastructure,” the association noted.