The Sparrow team attended the BnB Guest Conference for its second consecutive year, which took place at the Divani Caravel Hotel on January 25 and 26, the only conference on Sharing Economy & Short Term Leasing which witnessed a high level of attendance throughout both days of the conference.
One of the speakers on the first day of the conference was Aimee Trusler, AirDNA’s International Sales Manager. AirDNA is the world’s largest short-term leasing data company, collecting daily bookings and rates from over 5,000,000 registered Airbnb and HomeAway properties and will soon be analysing data from Booking.com as well.
During her talk, Trusler analysed some very important data on short-term leasing in Greece as revealed by Airbnb and HomeAway online platforms.
The 10 best neighbourhoods in Athens with the best income growth
As shown in the table below, in terms of RevPAR in combination with occupancy, Zappeion for the second consecutive year is at the top of the table with a $ 84 daily overnight cost (approximately € 75) compared to the previous year’s overnight cost which was € 58. Second in the list is the Commercial Triangle of Athens with $ 82 overnight stay (about € 73), compared to 2018 which was third in the ranking and with € 52.58 per night and third in the ranking for this year is Acropolis at $ 84 per night (about € 75) compared to the previous year which was second in the list with € 54.27 per night.
Rates and number of listings in Athens
According to the following table, of the 12,213 accommodations in Athens, 21% are hosts managing more than one accommodation, 49% are available to rent year-round, and 49% have been rented for less than 90 days the year.
Occupancy rates
Looking at the relevant data outside of Athens, Andros comes first with 87% in the category of accommodation rented from 1-3 months last year. The following are Lesvos with 83%, Thessaloniki with 54%, Kavala with 80% and Naxos and Small Cyclades with 73%. Athens has a 49% rate in the category.
Guest satisfaction rates
Like last year, the number of people who opted for his short-term vacation increased between 2018 and 2019. On the other hand, satisfaction declined for a second consecutive year, indicating that guests’ requirements are increasing and the shift to more professional services is appropriate.
According to Ms. Trusler “According to the latest statistics, we see demand for short-term rentals increasing. We can see that a large percentage of people have stayed in short-term rentals for the last two years, compared to 2017 and 2018… That’s why it’s becoming increasingly important to build your brand.”
Airbnb and HomeAway presence in Greece
In terms of the number of listings in Greece between Airbnb and HomeAway, Crete is again, for the second consecutive year, by far leading on both platforms followed by Athens in second place and Corfu in third.
More specifically, active listings in Athens on both platforms (Airbnb and HomeAway) exceed 13,634 with 12,213 on Airbnb and 1,421 on HomeAway.
Regarding the short-term rental market in Athens, Ms Trusler said the Greek capital is still considered a good market for short-term leasing, maintaining an “A” rating with 92% of the listings available being entire homes compared to the previous year when the rate was 88%.
“Athens has a huge amount of growth in professionalisation… This means being available 365 days a year, this means reaching an occupancy rate upwards of 50 percent, this means having booked days for more than half of the year”
Greece: 5 markets with the most growth
For the second year in a row, the 5 markets of Greece with the highest RevPAR increase were statistically presented. Andros comes first with 25.02%, Lesvos with 19.05%, Thessaloniki with 14.18%, Kavala with 4.28% and Naxos and the Small Cyclades with 3.77%.
According to Ms Trusler, ” This year’s markets to watch are completely different compared to last year and this tells us how rapidly this industry is growing… These markets might not even be markets that you would think but we can see that they’ve increased massively in the last year. “
” So, when we talk about market saturation in Greece, this doesn’t necessarily mean that the whole market is saturated. What it might mean is that the top markets, let’s say Athens for example, is expanding faster than the demand… Now is your opportunity to identify other markets in Greece where you can start to invest and get ahead of the game before it becomes saturated.”
Increase in lodgings in Greece – decrease in prices and occupancy for the second consecutive year
According to the latest data, while there is a large increase in the number of lodgings offered and an increase in overnight stays, there is also a decrease in occupancy and revenue.
Specifically, from December 2018 to December 2019, available short-term rentals increased from 76,369 to 94,592, an increase of 23.9%, while occupancy declined by 15% from 45.4% to 38.6% and RevPAR d(Revenue per Active Rental) decreased from € 47.98 to € 43.46, a decrease of 9.4%. Finally, the average daily rent increased by 6.5% from € 105.62 to € 112.48.
According to Ms Trusler “What this suggests to us is that Greece is at a critical point, its heading towards market saturation which is an indication that supply is much higher than the demand. This does not necessarily mean a bad thing but what it does mean is that it is more important now than ever to professionalise your listings to stay ahead in such a competitive market,”
