Athens hotels raise rates 23%
The average cost per night increased by over a fifth on an annual basis in the capital in May
Despite a slight lag in hotel occupancies in Athens and Attica compared to 2019, the nightly rate has increased by more than 20%, while revenue per available room has improved by 15%, at least in the first five months of this year, according to data released on Thursday by the Athens-Attica and Argosaronic Hotel Association (EXAA).
Price increases largely account for hotel performance, while the lag in occupancy rates is directly linked to the large increase in available beds in short-term rentals. At the same time, the increase in rooms resulting from the investments made in Attica in recent years is partly to blame for the mere 4% lag in occupancies compared to the first five months of 2019, according to market sources.
Between January and May there was a 19.5% increase in the average room rate of Athenian hotels compared to 2022 and a 21.4% rise compared to 2019. The average room rate reached 117.36 euros (from €98.21 in the first five months of 2022 and €96.7 in January-May 2019). “The impetus was clearly given by May prices at €154.66 in 2023, from €125.77 in 2022 (+23%) and €119.76 in 2019 (+29.1%),” notes EXAA.
Compared to competing cities, however, it is pointed out that the five-month data on Athens prices show that “we are still lagging and have the lowest average room price.”
The average hotel occupancy rate in May reached 88.5%, which is 7.9% better than in May 2022. On the five-month level it did not exceed 68.9% and was 4% below the performance of the corresponding five-month period in 2019.
The average occupancy of May 2023 (88.5%) was clearly improved compared to May 2022 (82%) and at similar levels to 2019 (88.2%). On the five-month level, the corresponding results for occupancy were 68.9% (2023), 52.5% (2022) and 71.8% (2019).
With these data, the revenue per available room in Athens in January-May 2023 was €80.9 – i.e. 16.5% higher – but remained below that of foreign competitor cities (€121.51 in Barcelona, €139.39 in Rome and €214.05 in Paris).
