Small hotels are looking up

Optimism on tourism season has trickled down to the bottom of the hospitality pyramid

growth of Greek tourism, driven in recent years by luxury resorts and five-star city hotels, is now spreading to smaller hotel units as well.

These units expect an average increase in sales of 10% per year for the next three years, but at the same time they state that they are having trouble finding the necessary staff to cover the increased demand, even though they are offering salary increases of up to 20% from 2022.

These are the main conclusions from the responses of hoteliers who participated in a National Bank survey on the prospects of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the sector, i.e. with a turnover of up to 10 million euros per year.

Smaller hotels appear optimistic about their future business, as reflected in the SME Confidence Index compiled and recorded by the bank. They show a higher balance of positive expectations (46 points compared to 15 in other SMEs), as well as in the individual index of future demand (72% estimate an increase in the next six months compared to 28% in other SMEs).

Their average estimate for the sales trajectory in 2023 points to a turnover increase of 10% this year, i.e. twice the estimate of businesses in other industries. Small and medium-sized hoteliers believe that these annual growth rates will be maintained over the next three years. Some more outward-looking hoteliers, mostly in island regions, make even higher sales forecasts (up 13% on average).

The report notes that indicative of the expansion opportunity perceived by smaller hotels are the investments they are making for their timely reinforcement, as for 2023 they estimate an average increase of 5% in both human resources and infrastructure, compared to 2-3% respectively for other SMEs.

When the hoteliers were asked what parameters have helped improve their prospects, the majority of them said the upgrade that has been achieved in recent years in the country's infrastructure was a key factor, with 58% of the sector recognizing this fact as a significant benefit.