Hotel owners feel time is right to sell units

Contacts are increasing between big Greek hotel owners, with units both in Attica and the rest of Greece, and potential buyers, according to well-informed sources.

The market understands that the selling plans of some of the sector’s major players who are not under financial pressure point to the opportunity they discern at this point to reap capital gains, as well as the realization the that industry may have reached the peak of its economic cycle.

That estimate coincides with concerns expressed recently about an upcoming slide for Greek tourism fundamentals, due to both the oversupply and external factors related to competition and the high taxation. It is therefore thought that hotel unit prices will not rise further as their profits are under pressure from the need to maintain competitive rates in comparison with countries such as Turkey, while profit margins are being squeezed by high taxes.

Some market observers go as far as speaking of bubble features in the hotel real estate sector, pointing to the competition from short-term rental platforms such as Airbnb and HomeAway. In this sense it appears quite logical to divest from the market while demand remains high, both in terms of visitors and candidate buyers, the same sources add.