The exemption from restrictions, even in the centre of Athens, of small private individuals with one or two listings who occasionally rent their homes to tourists is proposed by Airbnb, while arguing that any restrictive measures taken should be fully targeted, in dialogue with all stakeholders and with a continuous review of the actual market data every year.

At a time when Housing is consistently in the spotlight, as was also evident at this year’s Thessaloniki International Fair, the leading international short-term rental platform takes a stand and puts forward its own proposals on the issue, as captured in an interview with Valentina Reino, Policy Manager for Airbnb in Greece. She argues that the real causes of the Housing Crisis not only in our country but also in other European markets, focus on three main elements: the limited supply of housing, insufficient investment in affordable housing and the high number of vacant properties. “In Athens, one in four houses remains vacant,” he says, refuting criticism that it is short-term rentals that are exacerbating the problem, since “properties exclusively for short-term rentals account for just 0.4% of all housing in Greece and 1% of housing in central Athens.”