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"Drugs and petty dealers, pimps, prostitutes and groups of illegal languish immigrants rule today on Omonia Square which has become a ghetto and where there are thefts and robberies  every day."

This is how hotel-keepers, particularly those whose hotels are located around Omonia Square, define the centre of Athens.

"Crime is the reason for Athens’ centre bad shape," notes the executive manager of the group of companies Grecotel Marie Daskalandonaki, explaining that because of this she took the decision to close two hotels, one four-star and one five-star. Fashion House Hotel and the Classical Acropolis Hotel had a total of 500 beds. According to the hotels association, Athens has lost more than 1000 beds in the centre during the past two months due to the closure of hotels.  
 
Hotel-keepers in the centre have many stories to tell about guests in their hotels who became victims of attacks. Many tourists often "lose" not just money but their passports or identity cards.

The threat of attacks of foreigners who target their victims and then run and break the chains on their necks has increased.  

Theft of luggage from hotels entrances has become something usual. One out of every two tourists who leave their suitcases at the entrance of the hotel lose them forever.

"The worst thing is when Englishmen or Germans want to come to Greece they are literally bombarded by articles about crime in the city centre when they write Athens in the search engine for hotels," noted the President of the Association of Hoteliers in Athens Yoannis Retsos.

"Gangs of illegal immigrants devastate the area around Omonia Square. We reached the point to believe the illegal trade is the smallest problem," said hotel-keepers. The Panhellenic Federation of Tourist Companies called the mayor of Athens and the governor of Attica to take the necessary measures to "protect" the image of the city and its visitors. Impressive is the fact that municipal police observe the decay of the Athens center as simple spectators. Former mayoral administration believed that municipal police are incompetent and ineffective in fighting crime.

Another reason for the reduction of number of hotels in downtown Athens are high rents. The group of companies Daskalandonakis rented the Classical Acropolis Hotel from a private owner. Concerning the Fashion House Hotel, which belongs to the nursing home in Athens, the annual rent amounted to 2.5 million euros annually and the amount included and Nikos Daskalandonakis’ donation to the institution.

The company intends to replace the 550 beds in Athens with 850 which will be added to its hotel panoply in the country. Asteras Alexandroupolis Hotel the works on which were finished soon will be opened in a month. The company also announced the signing of a long lease contract with a purchase option for the Meli Palace hotel on the island of Crete.