Greek Airbnb Property Managers Seek Hospitality Know-how from Hoteliers

Short-term rental property managers have reached out to Greek hoteliers seeking to be taught the basics on hospitality and tourism and also to jointly solve problems arising from the activity.

“From our side, we do not think that we are competing with anyone,” said the treasurer of the recently established Greek Property Managers Association (PASIDA), Yiorgos Intziadis, during the BnB Guest Conference in Athens on Thursday.

PASIDA’s representative was speaking during a panel discussion on the impact of short-term rentals on the local community and economy. The president of the Hellenic Federation of Hoteliers (POX), Grigoris Tasios, was present as one of the main speakers of the panel.

Underlining the fact that the short-term rental market grew to high numbers very fast and in a very short time, Intziadis focused on the need for synergies and requested assistance from the hotel sector regarding the basic rules of hospitality.

PASIDA Treasurer Yiorgos Intziadis (L) inviting POX President Grigoris Tasios (C) to form a cooperation between hosts and hoteliers. Photo: GTP

“I appeal to Mr Tasios for the hotel sector to help ‘train us’ because we are facing tourists every day and it is in bad taste to not have any knowledge on tourism… I would like for the hotel sector to take part in our seminars and organize joint workshops with us and teach us some basic information on tourism, such as how to correctly welcome customers and how to offer a better stay to guests,” Intziadis said.

On his part, Tasios said that the federation of Greek hoteliers “does not have a problem” with short-term rentals per se but with the legislative framework surrounding the activity.

“We have legislation from 2016 that already changed twice by 2018. It is not being followed (by property owners) and this is the reality,” said Tasios, known for openly calling and insisting for the law regarding the activity of short-term rentals to be followed due to unfair competition for the hotel industry.

Tasios did not rule out the possibility of a dialogue and cooperation with PASIDA as he sees it as an opportunity to jointly find the best solutions and tackle problems. Essential for POX is for the existing legal and tax regime in Greece to come in line with international practices that apply to short-term rentals.

POX President Grigoris Tasios says that the federation of Greek hoteliers “does not have a problem” with short-term rentals per se but with the legislative framework surrounding the activity.

“While the State turns a blind eye to issues regarding short-term rentals, the stakeholders are showing the way towards logic with PASIDA’s open call for dialogue and cooperation with POX,” he said, adding that the development follows the federation’s persistence on the issue of short-term rentals.

In addition, Intziadis said that many properties that operate illegally should not be a part of the short-term rental market in Greece. “These properties should be removed so that only the remarkable ones will remain and offer the best stay for guests,” he said.

According to recent data by Greece’s Independent Authority for Public Revenue (AADE), some 49,000 properties – out of 84,000 – in Greece have been enrolled in the electronic registry for short-term property rentals, revealing that some 35,000 have not. Hosts that fail to enroll their properties face penalties of up to 5,000 euros.

Organized by Smart Press, the BnB Guest Conference aims to establish itself as an information hub for all those involved in the short-term rental market and to provide them the opportunity to offer better services and the chance to maximize their benefits.

GTP Headlines was a media partner to the BnB Guest Conference.