Greek Hotel Market Expected to Bounce Back Quickly from Covid-19, Says Survey

Photo source: Tranio (Dragon Images / Shutterstock)

Greece is included among the countries that are expected to see the swiftest recovery in their hotel markets, according to a survey released by Tranio, a real estate investment platform.

Conducted in cooperation with the International Hospitality Investment Forum (IHIF) in August, the survey focused on the impact the global coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic has had on the hospitality sector since March 2020, and to zero in on what can be expected from the market going forward. A total of 160 industry professionals, including real estate or hospitality professionals, hotel operators and investors, from across Europe participated in the survey.

The findings revealed that most experts expect the hospitality industry to recover in the next three years, although the situation in some countries will depend on vaccination rates.

Swiftest recovery in the hotel business. Which countries?

According to Tranio, respondents largely felt that the German, Spanish and Greek markets would prove more buoyant than others in terms of a swift recovery.More specifically, more than a third (35 percent) of respondents believe the German market will bounce back more quickly than others. Some 30 percent believe that the Spanish market will also recover quickly.

Among hotel operators, 31 percent chose Germany, and 25 percent each pointed to Greece, Italy, and Spain. More than a quarter, 27 percent of real estate or hospitality professionals think that Greece will be the fastest to recover but the majority still voted for Germany and Spain.

More than two-thirds of investors — 69 percent — expressed the most confidence in the UK market, while the rest referred to Germany and Greece. According to the latest report by STR, the UK hospitality sector shows the highest recovery rate in Europe, driven by leisure resort hotels.

Some of those respondents, who chose “other”, mentioned in the comments the United States, Asia in general, and Turkey and China in particular.

Other key takeaways from the survey:

• 52 percent of the respondents believe the hotel market will recover by 2024. Another 32 percent are optimistic that things will revert back to pre-pandemic levels by 2023 while less than 7 percent expect a full recovery by 2022.

• Hotel operators appeared to be the most optimistic about their predictions. Investors, on the other hand, were more cautious.
• Among investors, 69 percent expressed the most confidence in the UK market.
• Purchase prices of hotels have remained unchanged or have fallen by 5 percent or less, according to a substantial majority (78.6 percent) of respondents.
• 32 percent said hotels were converted to coworking spaces, 17 percent – opened ghost kitchens or dark stores, 10 percent – were converted to retirement homes.
• According to 71 percent, improved vaccination ratios will drive the market economy.

IHIF, Tranio’s partner for the survey, is the global voice of authority in hospitality investment, development and operations.