The landscape of southern Patmos is confusing. In the small valley surrounding Grikos Beach there are smatterings of unfinished construction, new construction and abandoned hotels. On the very upper hillsides surrounding Grikos, Petra and Sapsilla are new, large and visibly expensive houses. Last summer at a cocktail party I heard two architects scoffing at one new house built by someone with enough money both to construct a helipad and to pay the right government officials to look the other way – because it is strictly illegal.
In a few conspicuous locations in north Patmos, large, once luxurious prosperous hotels sit empty, abandoned. In Skala where the white building bleed into one another, it's easy to overlook some of the small, old hotels that simply don't operate anymore. Or how in the back of town near Choklakas Beach with its amazing sunsets rows of holiday apartments/apartment hotels stay perpetually empty even in the high season.
Meanwhile, 200 feet from the ferry dock, in a small, posh office with glass sliding doors you can usually find my friend George who runs Oceanoc – a property management and marketing business focusing exclusively on luxury properties with sea views and luxury services like private boat tours and high-end car rentals befitting his guests.
George is a former banker with a degree in economics from the University of Scotland. He worked for several of Greece's top banks for years before feeling like it just wasn't the life he wanted. Then he began vacationing on Patmos and a friend asked for his help managing a property. George was an intuitive marketer and organizer and soon he was asked to manage three. That's when it hit George that if done right, he could parlay his side hustle into a life. He convinced several owners of properties with seaside views to let him maximize their returns and built a portfolio.
Talking with George one day last summer, I couldn't understand how he found so many people able to afford his properties.
"It's not usually one person or a couple," he explained. "It will be a group of four couples from Italy or France who share the cost to have a luxury experience. They spend all their vacation money to get a big, nice place with a view – to live the luxury lifestyle they don't have at home. That's their holiday."
Now George, who comes from Athens, spends about seven months a year on Patmos and five either in Athens or traveling. He likes travel a lot and has been to an amazing number of places. Every afternoon at 3pm, no matter how busy his day, George takes time out to go paddle boarding at Agriolivadi. "What's the point in being here if I don't take a little time for myself to enjoy? That's why I'm here."
When I asked George about managing my property as a vacation rental, he was kind but said, "I don't know how to do Skala. I have tried and it has never gone well for me," he said. George fishes in ponds beyond Airbnb – aiming at luxury clients. Instead, George gave me very good advice on how to setup my Airbnb and VRBO listings, profile suggestions of both who will likely want to stay at my house as well as recommendations on who I want to rent to. In other words, try to avoid groups of young people sharing a house for vacation and aim for families with kids and better yet, older adults who often enjoy long stays. He said the older crowd will be low wear and tear, easy to work with and reduced turnover. George also kindly offered to refer clients to me when possible. "I get people who come to me for rentals in Skala – which I just don't have. I would be happy to book your place when those come up." I was happy for his offer.
George's business seems to be where Patmos is heading. He's busy all summer and stressed out in August. Looking at the hills, it's obvious more people are building properties of the kind George fills. In fact, at Sapsilla, I saw a newer Oceanoc property. It looked like it had three luxury units side by side with not only a view, but a 100 foot walk to the beach.
While George is riding high, there's a large seaside resort hotel at the edge of Skala for sale – empty, swimming pool drained. Another overlooking Kampos Beach. And yet another at Aspri. There's the apartment-hotel with the prominent "For Sale" sign over Grikos that's been sitting for two years – and another just like it on the other side of the valley.
Even in the high season of August, The Porto Scoutari Hotel over Meloi Beach and Eirini Luxury Hotel over Sapsilla – while still operating – are not full. And come September 1, both have lots of openings at discount rates.
What gives?
From what I can tell, it's a few things. The main one is Airbnb not only disrupted the hospitality industry, but on a Greek island where many visitors stay for extended periods residential properties are more to people's liking. As George observed, residential short-term rentals allow people who ordinarily couldn't afford it to pool their resources and live better than they ordinarily do. For a vacation of two, three or even four weeks – as Europeans often take – it's nice to feel at home. Certainly there are always people who like the luxury and service of a high-end hotel, but there are only so many of those on a small island like Patmos. Rhodes, Crete, Santorini and Mykonos offer an abundance of that kind of lodging. Patmos has a maybe four small, inconspicuous luxury resorts geared toward that crowd.
The remainder of the hotel industry on Patmos has been mostly mid-range, boutique, often family-run hotels and apartment-hotels like Nichola's. When I first came to Patmos in 2010, many of the apartment-hotels near Choklakas were busy. It seemed a simple hotel room with a kitchenette and balcony or patio near the beach was the middle-class European vacationer's dream.
Maybe that' the problem right there – middle-class.
"The Greeks coming this year, they are not middle-class, "Eirini told me a few days ago. "These are wealthy Greeks – really wealthy Greeks. That's because right now, with this inflation, normal people can't afford a vacation."
Eirini told me – and this is supported by what I've seen on the beaches – the Italians who flooded Patmos last August did not turn up in the same numbers this year. The beaches are busy, but it's still possible to get a seat and it's not a giant Italian beach party like last year. In fact, around restaurants and beaches, I hear more French and Greek still than Italian.
"The Italians are hurting right now – they can't afford it. Especially not on Patmos which is getting more expensive," Eirini explained. "The truth is, there is no more middle class – it's being wiped out."
Yet Eirini's traditional Greek natural foods and gifts shop is busy. She and her husband Alessandro figured out a clever niche – Greek foods, gourmet olive oils, nuts, candies, olives, nut butters, honeys, herbs, jams, dried fruits and natural products like soaps and olive wood cutting boards – all sized and packaged perfectly for take-home gifts and souvenirs. They aren't the same things you see in every tourist shop. The quality is great and variety enticing. Like Trader Joe's, Eirini manages to keep most things inside the impulse-buy price range.
Where are all of Eirini's patrons coming from? Certainly there's a base of vacationers staying on the island. She also credits her "regulars" for a good volume – people who come every year who get their snacks, their gifts or both from her store (like us). Still, a big portion – the ones who increasingly make the difference between a decent year's business and a good one – are the cruise passengers. People who spend on average four hours on Patmos, maybe 10 for the small, boutique ships with longer port calls. For Eirini, these are not as good a customer base because they buy less. Vacationers staying on the island have suitcases to fill and more than one time walking by the shop to be intrigued and eventually drawn in. In sales parlance, Eirini's best customers might take three touches and she's increasingly getting people with a single-touch opportunity.
Of course, the balance of visitors affects different businesses differently. Stelios' gelateria in its high-foot-traffic location maintains as brisk a business of cruise passengers as anyone else. Something about a cruise leaves people starving for gelato. Yet beach chair operators on Kampos and restaurants far from the port - unlikely to be sought out, if even needed by well-fed cruise passengers – like Ktima Petra and Flisvos rely solely on people staying on the island, be they short or long-term visitors. Last night, one of the Ktima Petra servers and family members indicated the money-making window is looking shorter with fewer people staying on the island than last year.
That's the thing about a tourism-based economy, it's subject to a lot of fluctuation. In recent years, Patmos has been getting more attention in the travel press. A few months ago, to my chagrin, a friend forwarded me a Condé Nast article about Patmos. That's great for Ktima Petra, and perhaps for me as an Airbnb operator – but less so for me as someone who just wants to enjoy one of the lesser-known jewels of Greece. Articles like that also bring the double-edged sword of making Patmos a more elite destination. The further you get to George's business model and the further from Nichola's, the more Patmos relies on a small population to fuel its economy. Moreover, it also means getting the most euros possible out of each visitor to make up for the volume. This approach has worked for Monaco and St Tropez. Can it work for Patmos?
I have my doubts.
Patmos is probably best-off being able to appeal to a variety of travelers and not to get so many guests that the very thing people come here for is ruined. Which means maintaining a careful, smart balance – especially when tourism is sensitive to economic cycles and fluctuations. It's like the irony of working in Human Resources – they're the first on the chopping block during hard times, so they're usually asked to fire a lot of people – and then fire themselves.
My guess is owners – old or new – of properties with hotels and apartment hotels are going to have to retool. How can they meet new tastes? Are there any yet unexploited advantages they have over Airbnb houses and apartments? My guess is many of them will need renovations and capital improvements in order to revive their relevance. There's probably a wonderful opportunity for people who can afford to buy up these ailing properties and give them a new purpose. Someone with George's type of creativity, but with an eye for marketing downstream can become a Patmian robber baron.
