Thessaloniki's hotel sector saw improvements in 2025, with increases in both average room rates and occupancy levels. However, a new study shows the city still lags behind most comparable European destinations in key performance indicators.
The study titled "Profile and Satisfaction of Tourists - Performance of Thessaloniki Hotels" was conducted by GBR Consulting on behalf of the Thessaloniki Hoteliers Association. It showed that the average room rate in Thessaloniki reached approximately €106 in 2025, up from €102 in 2024 and €96 in 2023. This reflects a 4% year-on-year increase and an 11% rise compared with 2023. Despite this growth, the city remains among the lower-ranked destinations in terms of pricing, though it moved up from eleventh to ninth place in 2024.
Revenue per available room (RevPAR) also increased by 5% year over year to around 78. This figure is comparable to that of Düsseldorf, yet both cities rank at the bottom among the eleven cities compared. In contrast, significantly higher RevPAR figures were recorded elsewhere, including approximately €162 in Edinburgh, €120 in Salzburg, and €110 in Cologne. Compared with 2023, Thessaloniki's RevPAR increased by 14.8%.
Occupancy levels in Thessaloniki reached 71% in 2025, marking a modest increase of 0. 9% from the previous year. The city maintained ninth place in this category, retaining the position it held in 2024 after dropping from eighth in 2023. At the same time, stronger performance was noted in May, September, and October, when Thessaloniki ranked sixth; weaker results in July and August, when it ranked tenth; and limited overall gains. Edinburgh recorded the highest occupancy rate at 85%, followed by Glasgow at 80%, while Düsseldorf had the lowest at 64%.
The study compares Thessaloniki with cities including Antwerp, Hamburg, Budapest, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Cologne, Manchester, Birmingham, Düsseldorf, and Salzburg. Edinburgh leads the average room rate at nearly €200, followed by Salzburg at € 155. Cologne records around €140, while Budapest and Düsseldorf are close to €130. Birmingham and Manchester remain slightly below Thessaloniki, with average rates of about €100.
In terms of visitor satisfaction, Thessaloniki's hotels received a score of 8.6 for services and infrastructure, while value for money was rated slightly lower at 8.2.
by Lina Tsireka - adapted from Greek by Vassia Barba
