The main Athens hotel city tax is the Climate Crisis Resilience Fee, a per-room nightly charge that every hotel, guesthouse, and short-term rental in the city must collect at check-in or check-out. For a three-star hotel during the April-through-October high season, it adds €5 per night. Five-star properties charge €15 per night, and short-term rental apartments carry €8. On top of this, Greece applies a small percentage-based occupancy tax and 13% VAT on the room itself.
The resilience fee is charged per room, not per guest. One traveler or four sharing the same room pays the same amount. Rates depend on the property’s official star classification and the season.
High-Season Rates, April Through October
Rates rose on January 1, 2025. During the peak months, the nightly fee per room is:
- 1- and 2-star hotels: €2
- 3-star hotels: €5
- 4-star hotels: €10
- 5-star hotels: €15
A five-night stay at a four-star hotel adds €50 in resilience fees. At a five-star, the same stay adds €75. These amounts sit on top of whatever you already paid through your booking platform, which almost never includes the fee in the prepaid total.
Low-Season Rates, November Through March
Winter travel cuts the fee sharply. From November through March, the per-room nightly rates are:
- 1- and 2-star hotels: €0.50
- 3-star hotels: €1.50
- 4-star hotels: €3
- 5-star hotels: €4
A week in a four-star hotel runs €21 in resilience fees during low season versus €70 in high season.
Short-Term Rentals and Villas
Apartments booked through Airbnb, Booking.com, and similar platforms follow a separate schedule that jumped considerably in 2025:
- Short-term rental apartments, high season: €8 per night
- Short-term rental apartments, low season: €2 per night
- Detached houses or villas over 80 square meters, high season: €15 per night
- Detached houses or villas over 80 square meters, low season: €4 per night
The €8 high-season rate catches many visitors off guard, since short-term rentals were charged just €1.50 per night before 2025. A week in a summer Airbnb means roughly €56 in resilience fees alone. Furnished rooms and apartments registered as traditional tourist rentals (rather than platform short-term rentals) follow a lower schedule closer to one- and two-star hotel rates.
The Occupancy Tax and VAT
Greece applies a Transient Occupancy Tax of 0.5% of your accommodation cost, with some municipalities opting for 0.75%. On a €150 room, that adds €0.75 to €1.13 per night. It applies to all accommodation types, from luxury hotels to hostels and rental apartments.
Accommodation also carries a reduced VAT rate of 13%.1Ministry of Economy and Finance. Value Added Tax (VAT) This is usually baked into the advertised room rate on booking platforms, so you will not see it as a separate line item. If a booking shows a rate “excluding taxes,” the 13% is added at or before payment.
Combined with the resilience fee, a week at a four-star hotel in high season brings roughly €75 in added government charges beyond the room rate and VAT.
How and When You Pay
The resilience fee is collected in person at the property, at check-in or check-out. You cannot pay it online or in advance through a booking platform. Hotels and hosts are legally required to issue a dedicated Special Resilience Fee Receipt, which is separate from your room invoice.2Independent Authority for Public Revenue (AADE). Frequently Asked Questions for Climate Crisis Resilience Fee Issuance Statement Ask for it and keep it with your travel records. If a property folds the fee into the room charge without providing the separate receipt, that is worth questioning.
Most Athens hotels accept card payment for the fee. Smaller guesthouses and Airbnb hosts may want cash in euros, so small bills help at checkout where card terminals are not always available.
Who Is Exempt
Almost no one. There is no exemption for children, Greek residents, repeat visitors, or long stays, and no cap on the number of nights charged. A 14-night vacation means 14 nights of fees. The narrow exempt list covers youth hostels, campsites, stays in protected heritage buildings, and genuinely complimentary stays where no money changes hands. If you are paying for a room in Athens, you owe the fee.