Huge slump in short-term rental bookings

Online bookings for short-term holiday rentals in Athens have declined by some 70 percent in recent days due to the Covid-19 epidemic.

Sector professionals say that “it’s like we are still in January, although we are heading toward the Easter holidays.” It appears that April will be even worse, given the increasing measures against traveling and gatherings in most European countries.

Nasos Gavalas, chief executive at short-term rental management company Mint (formerly EazyBnB), says: “We have recorded a reduction in arrivals and certainly many cancellations in bookings, particularly for the period until end-April. We estimate that the slump currently comes to 70 percent compared to the same period last year.”

Another notable feature of the last few days has been that city destinations will take a much bigger blow than their counterparts in the countryside, where the spread of the virus is much slower. However, given that the summer is still some months away, that perception may change too.