Greeks Are Airbnb Professionals

Six out of 10 properties that are rented through short-term rental platforms are currently managed by professionals. Own companies are established even by the owners of a single property.

A significant proportion of activity in the short-term rental sector today falls on professionals. According to research firm AirDNA, which analyzes data from the Airbnb and Vrbo platforms, the share of individual owners in Athens today does not exceed 30% of all active listings, compared to 42% in 2019, before the start of the pandemic. At the national level, the corresponding figure is 40%, compared to 46% in 2019.

In practice, this means that six out of 10 short-term rental properties are now professionally managed. High competition, the need for constant investment in real estate in order to stand out from the rest, the use of modern promotion tools and generally professional management are now considered as key components of the successful operation of real estate through digital short-term rental platforms.

Coronavirus outbreak has forced individual landlords out of the market

The trend has become even more evident after the pandemic, which forced many individual landlords out of the market. These people turned to the development of their properties through long-term contractual leases. Their choice has been made easier due to a significant 40-50% increase in rents since 2018, which makes this decision much more profitable than short-term rentals, especially if the property is not located in one of the areas that are in high demand among foreign visitors, then eat around tourist attractions in the center of Athens or in the southern suburbs.

However, even if the income is the same (from short-term and long-term lease), long-term is still clearly more profitable. Firstly, in this case, the landlord does not have to bear important expenses, such as utility bills (telephone-internet, electricity and water supply), which cannot be said about short-term leases. In addition, a short-term lease requires the landlord to spend a significant amount of personal time to bring the property into proper condition. Because it’s not always easy, many landlords end up leaving property management to a professional. He will take care of all relevant services (photography, promotion, cleaning, receiving visitors, etc.) and, withholding the appropriate commission (about 15-20% of the proceeds), will pay the difference to the owner.

According to AirDNA, from 2019 to present, the largest growth is in the number of listings (per operator/owner), from 6 to 20 properties. The share of this category has increased to 22% in Athens from 15% in 2019 and to 15% nationwide from 11%. However, in popular holiday destinations such as Mykonos, for example, the growth is even greater, as the corresponding share is 25% of all listings, compared to 17% in 2019.

At the same time, an important development is the increased penetration of professional property management companies, especially in Athens. Companies with more than 21 properties currently account for 21% of listings, up from 16% in 2019. Some of them manage both private and third party properties, while other companies in the sector focus exclusively on third party property management.

In a previous analysis, Transparent, a strategic partner of the Greek association STAMA (Association of Short Term Property Companies), reported that the Athens market ranked second in Europe in terms of growth in the proportion of professionals working in it. In particular, growth in Athens was 22% compared to 35% in Paris, followed by Milan with a 17% increase and Cannes with 15%.

However, other changes are taking place in the sector now. One of them concerns the creation of real estate management companies. Even if we are talking about one owner with one or two properties, more and more people are beginning to understand that it is more profitable to create an individual enterprise or IPE in order to manage activities through it. However, apart from being able to deduct expenses, in the near future, operating through a company rather than as an individual will become practically a one-way street due to the imminent introduction of VAT on all income generated from the short-term rental sector. This is a European directive that will be adopted by all Member States in the coming years. The existence of the company will be a key advantage for both deducting VAT and receiving VAT, even through the short-term rental platforms themselves.

“Sea” offer from Airbnb
As for the number of rental apartments in Greece, it is over 100,000, as Airbnb CEO Giacomo Trovato said in a recent interview “K”. Taking into account the AirDNA data, it can be seen that active rentals in Greece are currently down compared to Q3 2022, which is to be expected as many tenants only use their accommodation during the summer months.

In terms of the geographical distribution of ads, the map of the islands and the apartments for rent there reflects the popularity of this business practice in the island country.

The islands of Argosaronikos, Aegina, have the largest number of accommodation offers, while in the North Aegean, Thassos alone “offers” visitors more than 1000 rooms and houses. In the Cyclades, Mykonos and Santorini have the most accommodation, followed by Naxos and Paros. In the Dodecanese, Rhodes, being the largest island, also offers the most Airbnb accommodations.

Moving on to the Ionian Sea, Corfu leads the way in rentals as it reached 10,000 active rentals last summer, slightly surpassing the level of Berlin, which hasn’t gone past five figures for a long time. It is also surprising that the number of tenants in Corfu is close to that of Athens (11.5 thousand).

On Greece’s largest island, Crete, Airbnb has several thousand listings in each of its 4 prefectures. Chania, however, seems to be extremely popular with over 11,000 listings last summer across the prefecture, while Lasithi is on the opposite end of the spectrum with 3,500 listings.

In the cities and municipalities of mainland Greece, the distribution of short-term rental housing is even more uneven. The major cities of Athens and Thessaloniki, as expected, have the most rental housing, followed by Kalamata and Volos. In contrast, in areas such as Serres and Agrinio, there are very few listings on short-term real estate platforms.

In metropolitan areas, Airbnb is for many a “demon” that has led to skyrocketing rents, and for others an “angel” revitalizing declining neighborhoods. Athens, being the largest city and capital of the country, is expected to have a large number of rental ads in 2023 – 11.5 thousand.

This fact is also true for other European capitals in the south, such as Rome, Madrid and Lisbon. However, the distribution of housing in Athens is also concentrated in certain areas. The commercial triangle, which is the most central part of the city, has the most ads, followed by Koukaki, Neos Kosmos and Exarchia. The central areas, with good transport links, are the areas with the highest concentration of properties for rent, while the areas with the fewest listings are located on the outskirts of the center of Athens.

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