A turnover of 1 billion euros was made in Greece from the leasing of alternative-styled lodgings as more and more Greeks are renting out their homes as a result of the bad real estate market and the huge joint property taxes (ENFIA). A huge number of Greeks are posting their second homes online, offering travelers accomodation that is affordable.
60,000 households have sought this solution for vacant homes that are in a state of limbo as real estate sales have plummeted and ENFIA taxes have become a headache for homeowners. Most Greeks have a second home, usually from their place of origin. It is estimated that there are 2 million second homes and hundreds of thousands of vacant flats that can at any time be turned into lodgings.
Tourists going online can find all sorts of alternative accomodation from an 8-euro-per day room to 5,000 euros for a mansion by the sea during the peak summer season.
Photos of the lodgings are accompanied by personal photos of the owners and a brief introduction. Greek houses on international sites are popular and business for this form of accomodation is thriving even though it has proven to be a headache for other countries. In Catalonia, local authorities fined a company offering online lodgings for renting out homes without the proper license. In Australia, homeowners who rent out their granny flats or homes without doing the required paperwork risk a 1-million euro fine.
These sites are friendly and have a personal style allowing prospective travelers to get acquainted with the homeowners prior to the visit. For tis reason, many of the users are young and open-minded.
These vacation rentals are taking place at the time when the Greek Tourism Organization (EOT) has given out a total of 4,381 licenses for lodgings. The new unregistered dwellings are a headache for the tax office as well as Greek tourism authorities.
Some profiles
* Antonis hires out a communal residence with 8 beds in the central region of Neos Kosmos. He is willing to cook for people who use his lodgings as well as take them sightseeing. He states that the amount he gets goes to paying maintenance bills and he just breaks even.
* Elli offers a 20 sq meter room in central Athens for 18 euros a night. She says that one of the perks are meeting people from around the world and showing them what Greek hospitality is about.
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