The balance of the 8th month is also negative compared to 2022 and 2019
This year’s August ended with a decline for the hotels of Athens, both in the average occupancy, as well as in the average room price and in the revenue per available room, according to the monthly data of the Athens – Attica & Argosaronic Hotel Association (EXAAA), in collaboration with GBR Consulting.
As already announced, the months of May and June 2023 performed satisfactorily, managing to reduce – for the first time – the “scissors” from the performance of 2019. However, the average occupancy of Athenian hotels subsequently followed a downward trend. In August, it showed a decrease of 3.4% compared to August 2019. At the level of 8 months, the decrease compared to the corresponding period of 2019 reached 2.5%.
In August the average occupancy (81.5%) was exactly at the same level as the average occupancy in August 2022 (81.5%), however it appears reduced compared to August 2019 (84.4%). At an 8-month level, the average occupancy of Athens hotels does not exceed 76.1% and is still 2.5% below the performance during the corresponding period of 2019.
The same applies to the average room rate/ADR, which fell to €151.39 in August 2023, but also to the revenue per available room/RevPar, which fell to €123.39. Compared to the Average Room Rate/ADR of previous years, August 2023 shows a negative change of 12% compared to August 2022 and 34% compared to August 2019.
At the level of 8 months, the Average Room Price/ADR did not exceed 137.76 euros, a negative change of 14.3% compared to the 8 months of 2022 and 29.2% compared to the corresponding period of 2019, while hotels continue to operate with increased operating costs due to the general accuracy in items, goods and services, which far outweigh any increase in room rate.
What are the cities – competitors of Athens
At the level of competing cities, the data for 8 months 2023 of Athens compared to the performance of our competing cities, shows a good position of the Athenian average occupancy (76.1%), as the average occupancy in the other competing destinations varies in percentages from 63.2% (Istanbul) up to 78.7% (London).
The average room price in Athens is still considerably lower than that of other cities and comes with a modest “revenue per available room”. More specifically:
The 8-month average price / ADR for Athens (137.76 euros), for Madrid was 140.71 euros, for Istanbul 147.68 euros, for Barcelona 173.54 euros, for Rome 228.56 euros, for London 222.28 euros, for Paris 325.31 euros and only Vienna (124.16 euros) and Berlin (116.72) were close to the levels of Athens.
The performances regarding the average price / ADR August 2023 are also similar: Athens 151.39 euros, Istanbul 158.50 euros, Barcelona 170.78 euros, Rome 207.13 euros, London 214.97 euros, Paris 274.85 euro and so on
In terms of revenue per available room/Rev Par for 8M 2023, it reached 104.79 euros, marking an increase of 33.1% compared to the corresponding period of 2022 and of 26% compared to the corresponding period of 2019. Key competitors show a corresponding increase in revenue per available room of up to 54.8%.
In the meantime, EXAA notes its opposition to the increase of the already unfair accommodation tax, a measure which was implemented with the aim of helping the country to get out of the memorandums and expresses the hope that the necessary consultation with the hotel and tourism operators will be launched in order to find a correct and fair solution.
