Short rentals outshine hotels
More than four out of 10 beds available for tourist accommodation in the center of Athens at the end of 2019 concerned properties available through short-term rentals. Today, this number is estimated to have increased further, approaching 50% of the available beds in the city center, according to what Giorgos Soklis, assistant professor at Panteion University, told the general assembly of the Athens-Attica and Argosaronic Hotel Association (EXAAA) this week.
Given that the demand for travel to Athens has increased, with data from hotels and short-term rentals showing that in November it exceeded the level in the corresponding month of 2019, it becomes clear that new investments are required.
These are investments in both hospitality infrastructure to match the higher income profile of visitors, and heavy infrastructure such as airport capacity, highways, waste management, transport, green energy and more. While a large portion of the heavy infrastructure investment has been or is under way, much of Athens’ hotel stock is in need of extensive renovations, market sources say.
EXAAA President Lambrini Karanasiou Zoulovits raised the question: “What do we want for Athens in the end? We have to think about it. Do we want uncontrolled creation of beds with the risk of them remaining empty? Or do we want a strategic development that will ensure sustainability and proper development at all levels?” For this reason, EXAAA has requested a study on the carrying capacity of Athens. The research so far shows that at least four out of 10 available beds are in short-term rental properties, and on the other hand, the growth rate of short-term rentals is multiple that of hotels. Since 2019 the growth of hotel beds has been close to 11%. Accordingly, since 2015, when the short-term rental market began to expand, the increase in available beds is now approaching 400%.
According to Soklis, “the great increase in demand for tourism accommodation in recent years has been covered in an overwhelming percentage through the rapid spread of short-term rental accommodation, and not through the creation of new hotel units.”
