Louis Hotels has invested more than €30 million in renovations across Cyprus and Greece over the past three years, as the group continues to upgrade its portfolio despite a more challenging tourism season. 

The hospitality group, which operates 25 hotels in Cyprus and Greece with more than 13,000 beds, said investments for the 2024 – 2026 period could exceed €60m if new hotel projects are also included. 

The upgrades include the extensive renovation of Valmar Corfu into a five-star premium all-inclusive resort, as well as the opening of Imperial Island Resort in Paphos, which began operating on May 3. 

Speaking during a presentation of the group’s plans, Louis Hotels chief commercial officer Popi Tanta said that, beyond renovations, the total investment figure rises significantly when new projects such as King Jason hotel in Zakynthos are taken into account.

At the same time, the group is entering the summer season with “modest optimism”, as geopolitical developments in the Middle East have weighed heavily on demand for Cyprus. 

According to Tanta, the Cyprus market has been particularly affected by negative publicity linked to the war in the region, leading to cancellations and weaker bookings in March and April. 

“This year is moderately optimistic because Cyprus, unfairly, had negative publicity due to the war in the Middle East,” she said. 

She added that although bookings had been on an upward trend at the start of the year, the situation changed after the outbreak of the conflict. 

“Since the beginning of the war we saw a lot of cancellations, with a bad March and a bad April, while now May is starting to recover, reaching last year’s levels,” she said. 

The decline in Cyprus bookings so far stands at around 15 to 16 per cent compared with last year, although the group hopes the drop will narrow to about 10 per cent for its hotels on the island. 

Greece, by contrast, is performing better and is expected to partly offset the losses in Cyprus, although the overall performance is still not expected to match last year’s levels. 

“In Greece, while there was a restraint in bookings in the past period, we believe that the movement will go well and will balance the part of bookings for this year for the group, but not at last year’s levels,” Tanta said. 

Mykonos remains a more difficult case, having recorded losses since 2023. Hoteliers on the island have been adjusting prices to manage the downturn, with Louis Hotels reducing rates cumulatively by an estimated 30 per cent compared with 2022. 

For 2025, Louis Plc reported a consolidated net profit after tax attributable to shareholders of €7m, compared with €3.9m in 2024. 

Turnover rose to €138.6m from €128.1 million the previous year, an increase of €10.6m, or 8.3 per cent, mainly due to higher tourist arrivals in Cyprus. 

The company has also set in motion plans to withdraw from the Cyprus Stock Exchange (CSE). In December 2025, Louis announced a proposal under which ownership of the Louis Nausicaa Beach hotel would be transferred, debt-free, to the company’s minority shareholders and Louis Hotels Public Company Limited in exchange for the shares they currently hold. 

Under the plan, the company owning Louis Nausicaa Beach would be listed on the CSE’s main market, with the current minority shareholders and Louis Hotels as its only shareholders. As a result, the current major shareholder would remain the sole shareholder of Louis, allowing the company to become private. 

The group employs more than 2,000 people in Cyprus and Greece, with 62 per cent of staff coming from local communities. It also runs an annual recycling programme. 

Louis Hotels said repeat customers remain an important part of its business, with more than 25 per cent of guests returning. 

“The company has a very high number of repeat customers, at a rate of over 25 per cent, with the characteristic fact that there is a customer who has visited one of the hotels in Cyprus 43 times,” said Charalambos Lardas, the group’s general manager of sales and marketing. 

The group’s portfolio is divided into three collections. The Elegant Collection includes 15 hotels in Greece and Cyprus offering five-star services and a personalised approach, while the Family Collection includes seven hotels in Cyprus designed for family holidays, with themed restaurants and activities. 

The Villa Collection includes six luxury villa complexes in Cyprus and Rhodes. The group also offers specialised packages for weddings, events and conferences. 

Among the hotels most popular with the Greek market are the Royal Apollonia in Limassol and Hilton Nicosia, as well as King Jason in Zakynthos, Mykonos Theoxenia, Once in Mykonos, Asterion Suites & Spa in Chania, Valmar Corfu and Kerkyra Blue. 

In Rhodes, Amada Colossos Resort on Kallithea beach offers a water park, 16 dining areas and family-focused facilities, along with a villa section. 

The group said its goal remains continuous upgrades, with this year’s investment in Imperial Island Resort in Paphos now completed. A water park is expected to be added during the winter. 

Louis Hotels is also welcoming the new summer season with discounts of up to 35 per cent in Greece and Cyprus, along with offers including free accommodation for up to two children or free nights. 

The group said it remains open to acquisitions and new leases in Cyprus and Greece, particularly in highly touristic areas such as Rhodes, Crete, Kos and possibly Corfu. 

The group’s executives said they do not currently intend to proceed with a deal similar to the 2019 sale of five hotels in Greece to Blackstone-backed HIP, a transaction worth €170m. 

In terms of source markets, British visitors remain the leading nationality for the group in both Cyprus and Greece. In Greece, German visitors rank second, while in Cyprus the next largest markets are Israel and Poland. 

Louis Hotels traces its roots to 1935, when Louis Loizou founded Louis Tourist Agency, widely regarded as a milestone in the development of Cypriot tourism. 

The group later expanded into hotels, acquiring properties such as the Semmering in the mountains of Cyprus and the historic Ledra Palace in Nicosia, before entering the Greek market with its first hotel in Crete. 

Since 2000, under the Louis Hotels name, the company has grown into one of the best-known hospitality groups in Cyprus and Greece, with two privately owned hotels in Corfu and Cyprus and the rest operating under long-term agreements.