PASIDA Aims to Award Best in Greek Short-term Rental Market

The Greek Property Managers Association (PASIDA) recently announced plans to create an award to recognize the best short-term rentals in Greece in terms of quality.

Greek Property Managers Association (PASIDA) Chairman Andreas Chiou.

The association made the announcement during the BnB Guest Conference recently held in Athens.

“We are aiming to establish the BNB Award, the first award that will highlight the quality short-term rentals in Greece,” PASIDA Chairman Andreas Chiou told GTP Headlines on the sidelines of the conference.

According to Chiou, the Greek awards will be on the style of the European Holiday Home Awards that are given annually by the European Holiday Home Association to houses and apartments from 22 European countries that are in the short-term holiday home rental market for tourists in Europe.

The European Holiday Home Awards honor properties in various categories including Best Accessible Holiday Home, Best Budget Holiday Home, Best Pet Holiday Home and Best Romantic Escape Holiday Home.

A dedicated Greek website is currently being set up by PASIDA and once it goes live, property owners will be able to enroll their properties listed on home-sharing platforms such as Airbnb.

“There will be property categories and each short-term rental will be evaluated,” he said, adding that further information will be announced soon by the association.

Chiou added that PASIDA is aiming for the 1st BNB Awards ceremony to take place at the 2nd BnB Guest Conference in Athens next year.

PASIDA looks to launch certification program for property managers

PASIDA Chairman Andreas Chiou speaking during BnB Guest Conference in Athens.

Moreover, during the BnB Guest Conference, PASIDA announced that it is looking to launch a certification program to help professionals develop skills needed in the short-term rental market.

“We are aiming to consolidate the profession of short-term rental property managers… We are seeking certification for our profession because the short-term rental market has opened very much in Greece and we see the necessity to separate the professionals from the amateurs,” Chiou told GTP Headlines.

While still planning the details of the certification program, PASIDA has come into contact with the Athens Chamber of Tradesmen (EEA in Greek) and the Harokopio University in Athens seeking cooperation to launch seminars as part of the program.

“These seminars will be of educational nature and not university level… They will offer official certification because this is a prerequisite of the chamber in order to register property managers,” he said.

According to Chiou, the duration of the certification seminars has not yet been decided but the aim is for them to begin this year.

The seminars will aim to cover a range of topics such as property evaluation, correct pricing policies and tips on how to make an attractive listing on short-term rental platforms.

“You could say that we are training the professionals of tomorrow… It is impossible for someone to work in tourism and interact with tourists and be an amateur,” Chiou said and added that PASIDA is very much interested in cooperating with the Hellenic Federation of Hoteliers (POX) in order to learn more on hospitality and tourism in order to upgrade the quality of the Greek short-term rental market.

“The short-term rental market is not something temporary, but it’s here to stay. However, it must be set up correctly,” he said.

Starting out as a Facebook group to provide information to property managers that were managing short-term rental properties on platforms such as Airbnb, PASIDA became an official association in October 2018 and already is counting over 1,200 members from 96 Greek cities and villages.

PASIDA also holds workshops for its members that aim to help them with their listings on the home-sharing platforms and include promotional and marketing tips. The next workshop to be held will take place in February.

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.