Is it unreasonable to pay 1,000 euros a night to stay at an A-class Athens hotel during the upcoming Olympic Games ? “Yes!” say Greece’s development ministry , consumer and hotel groups. And they are cautioning Olympic tourists against astronomical “deals” like these being offered abroad. While it’s impossible to control what foreign tour operators charge, efforts are being taken to inform travellers of better options and prevent them from being taken on a bumpy Olympic ride.

Red-hot prices
The General Consumers’ Federation of Greece (INKA) first noted the overpriced hotels in March 2001. They now warn potential visitors against booking rooms that are five to seven times more expensive than normal during the Olympics. Newspaper Eleftherotypia reports that travel offices in Switzerland, France and Scandinavia are charging 2,000 - 3,500 euros for four nights at 2- to 3-star Attica hotels. The paper also referred to Parisian Groupe Heliades travel agancy, which is charging 2,295 euros for three nights at non-luxury Attica hotels.

For his part, Attica Hoteliers Association head Yorgos Tsakiris says these prices are often found on the Internet, offered by mostly EU -based companies. The entrepreneurs are often official Athens 2004 ticket sellers too. The head of both the Hellenic Association of Travel and Tourist Agencies (HATTA) and the Athens Convention and Visitors Bureau, Yannis Evagelou, singles out Sports World (in the UK) and Jet Set Sports (in the US), two companies that don’t make prices very easy to locate on their sites.

Cheaper solutions
In a free market, charging too much for hotel packages isn’t illegal, say Greek hoteliers. Tsakiris explains that, as with tomatoes, the farmer doesn’t control the grocer’s final price. Official Greek National Tourism Organisation (GNTO) price lists, however, are posted in all hotels by law. And while an Attica hotel owner cannot legally charge more than what is on that list, a tour operator abroad can. Evangelou thinks that companies, which have made deals with Athens Olympic Organising Committee (ATHOC) for the right to sell athletic event tickets, are taking advantage of their position when it comes to accommodation packages.

He notes that while this problem has also appeared during other Olympics, it is more pronounced in Athens due to the shortage of Game-time hotel rooms. Over a million tourists are expected by the GNTO to visit Attica for the Games; yet more than 80% of hotels have already been booked for the Olympic family, “at very affordable prices,” the Attica Hoteliers Association underlines.

“We won’t let the Olympics be used for profiteering,” said Development Minister Akis Tsochadzopoulos at a December 4 GNTO talk. Yet the solution isn’t clear. Tsochadzopoulos admitted it is impossible to control “what happens in Germany or Italy”. He alluded to working with foreign tour operators and ATHOC to keep prices down.

With no ATHOC statement released on the issue, the ministry seems to be focusing on Tsochadzopoulos’ other policy: “letting the world know about our prices.” The same day, concerned about the long-term impact of pricey hotels on Greek tourism, the Attica Hoteliers Association released a statement emphasising the affordability of their product: “Attica hotels remain among the cheapest in Europe”.

Concrete steps
On January 5, professional organisations including the Attica Hoteliers Association and HATTA launched an office offering free Game-time hotel bookings and information. It will inform potential visitors about prices and availability - without a middleman. The office is located at the Periphery Tourism office, 98-100 Syngrou Ave, tel +(30) 210-9220596 and +(30) 210-9219709. Tsakiris says it’s an attempt to curb negative publicity.

Despite the fact that 5,500 new beds have been added for the Games, finding a place to stay in central Athens from August 11 to 29 is nearly impossible at the moment (barring cancellations). Yet Tsakiris asserts that there are plenty of rooms available in outlying regions like the Saronic islands and Corinth .

INKA also started the New Year considering Olympic visitors. Following the examples of Sydney and Atlanta, it was to launch a Consumer Information Centre this month to protect Athens 2004 visitors. The centre will be based at the non-profit organisation’s central Athens info centre (7 Akademias St). Olympic queries will also be fielded on their hotline (11721 in Greece, +30-210-3632443 from abroad). During the Games, two mobile tourist information vans will assist Olympic consumers. INKA is also conducting Olympic-related market research and plans to create visitor guides.

Meanwhile, ATHOC is promoting its Filoxenia ’04 programme, in which visitors stay in furnished Attica apartments and homes.