Varying short-term rental trends
Athens ranks among the most popular 50 cities for Europeans from late March to mid-April
Short-term rental accommodation in Greece is showing diametrically opposite trends at the moment, depending on the location. Based on the latest data, the superiority of Athens compared to the rest of the country is quite evident, as in the capital there is a clear upward trend, while in the rest of the country it is the opposite.
This is a typical example of the high seasonality still displayed by the Greek tourism product, even though the appeal of short-term rentals to visitors is increasing during the current period, considered low compared to the summer.
According to data from AirDNA’s latest monthly pan-European survey, Athens ranks among the highest in 50 cities in terms of demand (number of bookings) for the period from late March to mid-April.
The Greek capital recorded a 35% annual increase in demand for accommodation, which is the seventh best performance among the cities with the largest concentration of short-term rental accommodation. This is a clear indication that the Athens market continues to attract visitors throughout the year. For the same period, cities such as Bologna (Italy) and Seville (Spain), which are in the first two positions of the same list, show a greater increase in demand, as well as a number of affordable destinations, such as Budva in Montenegro, and Bucharest and Belgrade.
The increase in traffic and demand for short-term rental accommodation in Athens during the recent holiday season was even greater. According to AirDNA data, Athens recorded a 50% year-on-year increase in bookings, despite not being among the traditional Christmas destinations.
On the contrary, overall, the Greek market continues to lag behind the rest of Europe, which means that despite the significant increase in traffic in Athens, as well as in Thessaloniki, the losses from the traditional summer destinations are greater. Therefore, based on AirDNA’s research, this February a 10% decrease in occupancy was recorded (nationwide), while demand also decreased by approximately 8%.
