Hotels To Pay Less Rent To Public Sector

The four-star Esperia hotel on Stadiou Street in central Athens was one of the hotels that closed down do to high rent (1.5 million euros annually).

The Hellenic Chamber of Hotels recently hailed the recent decision of the Regional Development and Competitiveness Ministry to reduce the rate for calculating the annual rent of property belonging to the public sector and used as hotels, from six percent to 4.8 percent of the property’s fair value.

According to the chamber, the ministry’s legislative initiative will assist to the rescue of the historic center of Athens.

The chamber said tenants interested in reopening major hotels in downtown Athens (that had closed down due to excessive leases) would now be easier to find.

“These areas will come back to life with tourist visits and additional services that will develop around the hotels while 1,000 jobs that were lost last year in hotels and neighboring shops in downtown Athens will be recovered,” the chamber said.