Reservations in Greek luxury resorts are stronger than ever

To the question how are reservations going, the answer is: it depends on who you ask! And this is because it seems that Greek hotels are moving at two speeds. The high-end units, ie the luxury resorts are moving to the levels of 2019 or even better, while at the same time the anxiety and uncertainty for the vast majority of Greek hotels is peaking due to the effects of the Delta mutation on the bookings of the next period.

At the same time, hopes for something better are raised by the British Government’s decision to abolish the quarantine obligation for those visiting countries that are in the “amber” destinations.
In an environment reminiscent of quicksand, the average Greek hotel is trying to survive in contrast to the luxury resorts that are currently achieving enviable performances.

“The high end is doing better than ever” is the phrase used by one pundit representing luxury units in the Greek market, to describe the picture in bookings this season and in August, adding that “high-income tourists spend recklessly, also raising the average room rate and the daily cost per guest, which can even exceed 3,500 euros.

Our interlocutor explains that the increased demand for luxury units is due to the increased liquidity, the willingness of everyone to escape the “miserable situation” caused by the coronavirus, and the “demand” to enjoy a safe environment such as the environment provided by luxury resort.

However, as he notes, the benefits for the total tourist income of the country will be limited as the very high level of tourism is a small part of the total tourist market. However, the fact that luxury tourism is recovering first after a very difficult period such as the pandemic, shows us the way to the type of investment that our country needs, noted the same person. Also the increased demand for high-end destinations in our country proves that the brand “Greece” is very strong and attractive.

However, the predominant element for the vast majority of Greek hotels as mentioned above is the uncertainty created by the Delta mutation, while some hopes are created as mentioned above by the decision of the British government.

The Delta mutation worries us, we are following the developments and we will move according to what the epidemiologists will recommend to us, Deputy Minister of Tourism Sofia Zacharaki told “ot.gr” on the sidelines of an event in Paros for the purchase of six new ATR 72-600 aircraft by SKY express. The Deputy Minister also stated that there is no wave of cancellations except in some cases in Crete and stressed that the clouds of uncertainty will disperse as the vaccination progresses. The passport to what we discuss for each activity is vaccination, he stressed.

The head of Sky Exprerss, Mr. Giannis Grylos, also appeared optimistic about the future, noting that we have reached the worst point and from now on tourism can only move upwards.

These statements are not far from a particularly optimistic post via twitter, by the honorary president of the Association of Greek Tourism Enterprises (SETE) Mr. Andreas Andreadis who noted: “Following the announcement of England to abolish the quarantine of vaccinated visitors to our country “Despite the rise in cases across the EU, my first estimate for tourism revenue in 2021 is that it will reach 50% of 2019 revenue, ie 9 billion euros.”

Also, the president of SETE, Giannis Retsos, posted on Twitter: “From the current data of the tourist destinations, there is no” wave of cancellations “. There is anxiety, due to the Delta mutation, mainly for a possible reaction of our main markets, but on the other hand there is also the expectation, as we are waiting for reservations from Britain “.

The losses are bigger this year

In the meantime, the burden of island destinations, with the cost and bureaucracy of the rapid test, seems to “push” a small part of domestic tourism mainly to land destinations, which in any case are dominated by uncertainty.

According to the president of the Lefkada Hoteliers Association, Mr. Manolis Thermos, the fact that Lefkada has a connection to the mainland is an advantage. However, he says he is relatively pessimistic as the traffic is not as expected and maritime tourism on the island (yachting) has been hit hard by the absence of British travelers. Fortunately, he notes that this year we have many Romanians and in general Balkans who reach the island by road. However, he considers that the economic results of the hotels will be worse this year as the reservations range from 40-50%, but the operating costs are higher since this year the hotels opened earlier but without reservations and at the same time this year the prices we offer are almost 40% reduced compared to previous years.

This year is full of uncertainty, the president of the Hotel Owners Association of Laconia, Mr. Dimitris Pollalis said. Laconia is a destination that is expected to emerge victorious as a land and easily accessible destination. However, Mr. Pollalis notes that so far the movement is sluggish and uncertainty prevails, due to the general evolution of the pandemic.

In fact, he reveals to us that the Peloponnese Tourist Organization in order to enhance the sense of security in the region will launch a campaign in favor of vaccinating all those involved in tourism in the Peloponnese.

Finally, in Naxos, a destination close to Attica, no reduction in bookings or cancellations has been recorded yet due to the imposition of additional measures, notes the president of the Naxos Hoteliers Association, Mr. Manolis Bardanis. The destination is mainly for individual travelers and not groups and so far there is no reduction in arrivals or reservations. Instead problems can arise in destinations based on group travel, he added.