The summer ended with one of the strongest performances at a pan-European level for the Greek short-term rental market, which managed to combine a double-digit increase in prices and revenues without any substantial loss in occupancy.
The picture for the next period is, however, more restrained, as bookings for Greece from September to December are so far moving close to last year's levels, while overall in Europe an increase of 2.3% is being recorded.
According to AirDNA's new monthly analysis, during the summer period revenue per available night (RevPAR) in Greece increased by 11.9%, reaching 138 euros. This is one of the highest increases among the major European markets and a performance more than double the European average, as in Europe RevPAR rose by 5.5%, to 105 euros.
A key driver of the high performance recorded by the domestic short-term rental market was the average daily rate (ADR) of Airbnb-type accommodations, which increased in the summer by 11.8%, to 195 euros, compared with an increase of 7.8% across Europe as a whole.
The distinguishing difference of the Greek market, however, lies in occupancy. Despite the double-digit increase in accommodation prices, this specific indicator remained essentially unchanged, at 70.9%. It is noted that among the 20 largest European markets, Greece and Albania were the only ones that did not lose occupancy during the summer.
More specifically, Albania was the only one to record an increase, by 2.1 percentage points, while in Greece the change was limited to just 0.1 percentage point. All the other major markets moved downward.
Greece's strong performance is being recorded in a period during which demand in the European short-term rental market declined. In the June-August quarter, overnight stays in Europe amounted to 174.9 million, down 2% year-on-year, while available listings increased by 1.7%.
It is noted that this decline was particularly concentrated, since Spain accounts for 68.8% of the total loss of 3.6 million overnight stays and Germany for an additional 30.5%. If these two markets are excluded, European demand appears essentially unchanged, with a change of just -0.02%.
August performance
The picture was similar in August as well, with the average daily rate in Greece standing at 202 euros, up 10.9% year-on-year. RevPAR reached 152 euros, recording an increase of 11%, while occupancy once again remained essentially stable.
At the same time, in Europe the average daily rate in August increased by 7.5%, to 160.1 euros, but occupancy fell by 2.1 percentage points, to 70.4%, resulting in RevPAR increasing by 4.3%, to 112.7 euros. Overnight stays in the Old Continent fell in August by 3.1%, to 66.4 million, while available listings increased by 1.7%, to 4.25 million. As a result, the expansion of supply combined with lower demand put pressure on occupancy in the European market.
It is noted that all 20 largest European markets recorded an increase in average daily rates both in August and over the summer as a whole. However, in most cases this increase was accompanied by lower occupancy.
The signal for autumn
As regards autumn, future booking data provide a first picture of the continuation of the season.
In Europe, 77.9 million overnight stays have already been recorded for the period September-December, a figure increased by 2.3% compared with last year. September is moving 2.4% higher and October 4.9% higher, while November is lagging by 1.9% and December is almost stable, at +0.4%.
Of the 42 European markets monitored by AirDNA, 31 show a positive sign in future bookings. Greece, however, is in the group of markets moving close to 2025 levels, together with France, Spain, Germany and Austria, with deviations within one percentage point of zero. Specifically for our country, for the period September-December a shortfall of 0.6% compared with last year has so far been recorded.
This shows that, for the time being at least, the Greek market is not showing the same momentum as Europe as a whole in bookings for the last four months of the year. As AirDNA points out, November and December are still at an early stage of the booking cycle and, therefore, there is significant room for strengthening demand in the coming weeks.
The best picture is shown by Finland with +22.6%, Denmark with +16.2%, the Czech Republic with +12.9% and Poland with +12.5%. Among the larger markets, Italy stands out with +8.5%, while the United Kingdom is at +4.5%.
Seasonality
AirDNA's data also highlight the long-standing challenge of seasonality for Greece. 65.7% of Greek demand recorded from January to August was concentrated in the June-August quarter, the third-highest percentage among the European markets examined by AirDNA.
Higher concentration is shown by only Croatia, with 77.48%, and Montenegro, with 71.11%, while after Greece comes Albania with 64.89%. Across Europe as a whole, the corresponding percentage is limited to 53.38%.
In fact, the seasonal concentration of Greek demand increased by 0.92 percentage points compared with last year, in a period during which the discussion about extending the tourist season is high on the agenda. A similar, though milder, trend is recorded overall in Europe, where the share of demand concentrated in the June-August quarter increased to 53.38%, from 52.89% last year.