Hospitality News

For the month of August at least, hotels in the general and greater Athens region managed to do well with their average occupancy rate hitting 95% during the Olympic Games, says the Attica Hoteliers’ Association.

Hundreds of flights a day seen during the first 20 days of the month of August have been bringing plane-loads of Olympic visitors to Athens, especially during the days leading up to the launch of the Olympic Games. But it’s still too early to confirm whether predictions – that the Games will not attract enough visitors to boost what has undoubtedly been a bad year for tourism – will actually come true or not.

The Poseidon Hotel on the Athens area Paleo Faliron seafront is one of the very rare local hotel units that has been able to cover all the strict prerequisites required to fly the coveted European Union Blue Flag designated only for clean beaches and excellent swimming waters.

Negative data for the months of May and June, and a severe lack of bookings for the peak summer period, have forced lodging units outside of the Athens/Attica area to slash prices in an attempt to entice Greek holidaymakers.

The Eridanus is the latest in luxury hotels to open its doors this summer in time for the Olympic Games. Although comparatively small, 38 rooms in all, this unit displays some high quality service personnel and luxurious style and furnishings.

AKS Hotels says it will open its new conference center at Porto Heli in May of next year.

After almost a decade and one-half of silence, the historic King George II hotel on Syntagma Square opens its doors to the world’s most demanding of hotel guests under the “Leading Hotels of the World” banner. The five-star unit, following radical renovations, is now more luxurious than during its days of glory some 150 years ago when its halls rang with laughter as the meeting place for King George II’s court.

Local hoteliers refuse to go out on a limb and suggest they experience anything close to optimism for 2004, but there was a slight optimistic tingle with the release of April’s overnight statistics, which came on the heels of disappointing first-quarter.

Tourism Minister Dimitris Avramopoulos officially opened Greece’s newest Holiday Inn, which sits on prestigious piece of property on Attikis Othos. The new five-star unit is expected to entice business people from the capital’s Marousi-Kifissia suburbs as it’s easy and quick to reach.

Hotel Terra Maris, next to the Creta Maris, hosts the first international tourism school on Crete. Markos Komninakis, director of studies for new Trinity International Hospitality Studies says three-year programs begin this October. Accredited studies range from hospitality and tourism management to culinary management to convention and event management.