Demand for Short-term Holiday Rentals in Athens on the Rise

Photo source: Greek Travel Pages.

Demand for short-term holiday rentals in Athens increased in the first quarter (Q1) of 2023 reflecting the rise in arrivals earlier in the year, according to data released by analytics firm AirDNA.

More specifically, demand for short-term accommodation in the Greek capital in the first three months of the year is up by 20 percent compared to pre-Covid 2019.

Overall in Greece, March demand grew by 29.6 percent year-on-year with supply up by 4.8 percent boosting occupancy levels by 50 percent. Greece reported the highest short-term accommodation occupancy increase among the 20 countries reviewed by AirDNA.

Source: AirDNA.

In terms of going rate, based on data collected from Airbnb and Vrbo online rental platforms, the average price for a holiday rental in Athens in March came to around 70 euros and overall in Greece to 187 euros up by 26 percent over 2022.

Short-term rentals hosts are expecting good performances in 2023.

Overall in Europe, demand in March for short-term holiday accommodation grew by 24.1 percent over 2022 and over 25 million night stays and up by 28.1 percent compared to pre-pandemic 2019. The strong demand drove revenues up by 44.6 percent compared to 2022 and by 81.6 percent against 2019.

Source: AirDNA.

In Europe, Bucharest, Palermo and Budva in Montenegro marked the greatest Q1 growth in demand, up by 58.9 percent, 58.5 percent and 52.1 percent, respectively, compared to the corresponding period in 2019.

The largest declines in Q1 demand were reported in Amsterdam (64.3 percent), Dublin (60.7 percent) and Cologne (60.4 percent).

March was a strong month for all 20 countries under review while 18 territories surpassed 2022 levels. Leading the way in March was Norway where demand was up by 49 percent compared to March 2022, followed by Portugal (+36.6 percent) and Italy (+36.2 percent). Demand dropped in Croatia (-22.5 percent) and Denmark (-19.5 percent).

Source: AirDNA.

According to AirDNA, travelers appear to be booking earlier this summer. Indicatively, since April 9, nights booked for future travel were up 34.2 percent compared to 2022 and by 22 percent over 2019.

Last month, Greece recorded the highest growth in demand for Airbnb-style rentals despite historically being the least busy period of the year, up by 60 percent compared to 2022. In January, AirDNA analysts said demand for Airbnbs in Greece was expected to remain strong throughout the year after a 50 percent year-on-year rise in 2022.