- The Thessaloniki International Documentary Festival is looking for hotels again.
- Budget: €107,120 (VAT included) for accommodation alone.
- Requirement: at least four stars, breakfast included.
- Distance obsession: 500 to 1,200 meters, measured in straight lines, presumably with a ruler.
- On peak days, up to 200 rooms may be needed simultaneously.
- Festival dates: 5–15 March 2026, because documentaries do not watch themselves.
The Thessaloniki International Documentary Festival has officially done what it does best every year: issued a highly detailed call to secure enough hotel beds to support the 28th Thessaloniki Documentary Festival, scheduled for March 5 to 15, 2026.
The message is clear. Films may be experimental, but accommodation must not be.
A Festival That Sleeps Seriously
With a total accommodation budget of €107,120 including VAT, the Festival is seeking hospitality services for its guests, all to be housed in four-star hotels or higher, with breakfast included—because nothing fuels documentary debates like a respectable buffet.
The submission deadline for interested hotels is January 13 at 11:00, with the tender opening the same day at 13:00, leaving just enough time for coffee, contemplation, and mild panic.
Location, Location, Obsession
The Festival’s geography is non-negotiable.
Hotels must be located within 500 meters (in a straight line, not by pedestrian reality) of either the Olympion building or the Port of Thessaloniki warehouses.
Or, if that proves too daring, within 1,200 meters of the Olympion, still measured as the crow flies, not as a human walks with luggage.
Accessibility is also mandatory, with documented AMEA-friendly rooms, because inclusivity is not optional—nor should it be.
The Night Count (Because Numbers Matter)
The tender outlines a precise breakdown of overnight stays, including:
- Single occupancy in double rooms (the preferred cinematic solitude).
- Double rooms for actual doubles.
- The occasional triple room, presumably for very close collaborators.
In total, the Festival anticipates hundreds of overnight stays, spread.
The Bed Math Behind the Festival
For anyone wondering how many pillows, breakfasts, and precisely measured walking distances it takes to keep a documentary festival alive, here is the reality on paper. The accommodation tender does not leave much to interpretation—everything is counted, mapped, and timed with impressive determination.
Specifically, the Thessaloniki International Documentary Festival requires the following accommodation services:
- 180 overnight stays in double rooms for single use, with breakfast, in 4-star hotels, within 500 meters of the Olympion building or the Port warehouses, including AMEA-adapted rooms.
- Guest stays range from 3 to 11 days.
- 11 overnight stays in double rooms for double use, with breakfast, in 4-star hotels, within the same 500-meter radius, also with AMEA-adapted availability.
- Stays range from 3 to 10 days.
- 1 overnight stay in a triple room (three guests, one night), with breakfast, in a 4-star hotel within 500 meters, AMEA-adapted.
- 271 overnight stays in double rooms for single use, with breakfast, in 4-star hotels within 500 meters of the Festival venues.
- Guest stays range from 3 to 11 days.
- 11 overnight stays in double rooms for double use, with breakfast, in 4-star hotels within 500 meters.
- Stays range from 3 to 10 days.
- 1 overnight stay in a triple room (three guests, one night), with breakfast, in a 4-star hotel within 500 meters.
- 407 overnight stays in double rooms for single use, with breakfast, in 4-star hotels within 1,200 meters of the Olympion building.
- Guest stays range from 3 to 11 days.
- 9 overnight stays in double rooms for double use, with breakfast, in 4-star hotels within 1,200 meters.
- Stays range from 3 to 9 days.
- 1 overnight stay in a triple room (three guests, one night), with breakfast, in 4-star hotels, located close to one another and within 1,200 meters of the Olympion.
As noted in the tender, the distribution of these stays will not be even across the 11 days. On certain dates, hotels should be prepared to provide up to 200 rooms simultaneously—because documentaries, like festivals, arrive in waves.
While this is technically an administrative tender, it quietly underlines something else: March is no longer a “quiet” month for Thessaloniki.
Major cultural events continue to place real pressure on the city’s hotel infrastructure—particularly for exceptionally high-quality, centrally located accommodation. For the hospitality sector, this is not just about hosting filmmakers; it is about confirming Thessaloniki’s role as a year-round cultural destination, not a seasonal one.
The Thessaloniki International Documentary Festival notes, with admirable honesty, that the distribution of overnight stays will not be even. In human terms, some nights will be calm, and others will feel like Cannes, but with scarves and strong opinions. Hotels are advised to plan accordingly.
