Covid-19 Drives Athens Airbnb Demand Down in 2020

Demand for Airbnb short-term rentals in Athens plunged this year driving revenue down by 80 percent, according to the “Covid-19 Industry Pulse Report: Tourism” report released in December by Ernst & Young (EY).

The coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic resulted in a 76 percent drop in international arrivals to Greece driving demand down and impacting the Greek hospitality sector in terms of demand, occupancy, and revenues.

More specifically, citing data by market analysts AirDNA, the number of active listings for Athens fell to 7,100 from 12,700 in Q3 2019.

For the January-October 2020 period, the number of active listings appeared to be down by at least 30 percent compared to the same period last year.

At the same time, average daily rate (ADR) fell by 50 to 60 percent to an average of 30 euros from 55-60 euros last year.

Source: EY

EY analysts note however that the short-term rental market as well as housing rentals managed to mitigate losses despite the difficult first half of 2020.

According to data processed by EY Greece, occupancy rates marked a 30 percent decline on an annual basis in October.

The hardest hit by the pandemic was the short-term rentals market of Athens, suffering significant losses. According to the report, the number of listings in Athens fell by up to 30 percent with income down by 80 percent.

Indicatively, Athens now has 7,100 active listings out of a total of 12,700 in Q3 2019 and Thessaloniki 1,700 out of 2,700 last year.