Up 14.4% last year, average room rates in Athens and Attica hotels despite occupancy being 10.7% lower than in 2019, the last year before the pandemic. However, during the last month of the year, December, occupancy increased by 7.9% compared to 2019, showing the momentum Athens has gained as an independent destination. According to her Hoteliers Association of Athens – Attica and Argosaroniki (EXAAA)closed with an average occupancy of 69.1% in 2022 compared to 54% in 2021 and 77.4% in 2019%, however, we should be concerned,” the Athens Hoteliers Association reports, implying that a very large some of the guests of the capital were not accommodated in hotels, but in short-term rentals.

Occupancy in December exceeded the 2019 figure by 7.9%.

The average room rate (ADR) in 2022 for Athens hotels was 121.45 euros, the price increased by 14.4% compared to 2019. Growth and level, however, is less than in other European cities. For example, the average price for a room in London is now 213.47 euros, in Paris – 295.26 euros, and in Rome – 175.12 euros. In terms of occupancy, it is worth noting that only London, Paris, Barcelona and Istanbul in 2022 had occupancy significantly higher than Athens. However, revenue per room in Athens for the year did not exceed 83.95 euros compared to 82.2 euros. in 2019. Thus, “during a time of high inflation, increased business costs and increased operational needs, there was only a very small positive change (as a percentage of revenue) of 2.1% compared to 2019,” highlights the Athens Hotel Association.

The above generalized figures, however, obscure the fact that now in Athens, as in other Greek destinations, there are hotel companies of varying speed: as market circles explain, luxury hotels and in general accommodation of high quality and excellent service enjoy much higher occupancy rates. and even higher income per available room. On the contrary, hotels with lower ratings remain in crisis, especially due to the growth of their operating costs. At the same time, competition from short-term rentals has intensified. According to a study released in December by EXAAA, more than 4 out of 10 places available for tourist accommodation in the center of Athens at the end of 2019 corresponded to facilities available on a short-term rental basis. Today, this number is estimated to have increased even further, approaching 50% of the available beds in the central sector of Athens. In addition, the growth rate of short-term rentals is several times higher than that of hotels. In particular, from 2019 to the present, the increase in the number of places in hotels is approaching 11%. Accordingly, since 2015, when the short-term rental market began to grow significantly, to date, the increase in available beds is approaching 400%, according to EXAAA research.

In any case, the first figures for 2003 are encouraging for tourism in Athens: for the first time in three years, in January, passenger traffic at Athens International Airport and the number of flights rose to a higher level than in 2019. passenger traffic from abroad increased by 5%. Thus, Athens seems to have regained the pace of tourism development from which it started in 2020, i.e. before the start of the pandemic. That January 2020 remains, albeit marginally compared to this year (then 25,000 more passengers), the best for passenger traffic at Athens International Airport. However, the number of flights in January this year exceeds even the number of flights in 2019.