There has been a huge increase in tax revenues from short-term rentals in recent years. Giorgos Pitsilis, the governor of the Independent Authority for Public Revenue (AADE), revealed that revenues have more than doubled since 2017 at the 25th Prodexpo, which is taking place on October 21 and 22 at the Athens Concert Hall.

"In 2017, tax revenues were around €70 million, while last year they reached €740 million. This year, in the first nine months, we have revenues of €742 million (compared to €640 million in the same period in 2023) and we estimate that by the end of the year we will reach €830 million," Pitsilis said. He stressed that the Hellenic Revenue Authority has developed, in cooperation with short-term rental platforms, tools that provide quality data for the market. According to this data, 6,200 legal entities have registered more than 3 properties, with a good picture of compliance with the law, as 90% have opened books, about 500 have given wrong codes, and another 500 have not taken any action. "We have identified them, and we will harass them in the next period to make them comply," Pitsilis said, adding that now only 12% of the registrations on these platforms are problematic.

Responding to a question on the issue of vacant properties, Pitsilis said we cannot know exactly how many there are—something that will change in 2025, when the property ownership and management register will be developed in cooperation with the Land Registry.

VALENTINA REINO STATEMENT

In her own statement, Valentina Reino, Airbnb's Head of Public Policy for Southern Europe, stressed that the agreement that short-term rental companies have made with the AADE in Greece is best practice in Europe. He said it is easy for hosts to register on the platform and comply with the legislation, as the process is automated and repeated every year. He also pointed out that Airbnb's experience from other countries, where restrictions on short-term rentals were imposed, is not positive, as they did not benefit local communities while property prices increased.

On the sidelines of the conference, Valentina Reino was asked if short-term rentals have an impact on the housing crisis, stating that "Airbnb has little to no impact on the availability or price of housing in the vast majority of regions. While in certain neighborhoods and city centers, short-term rentals may compete with long-term housing, a private space (primary or secondary residence or even rooms) that is rented occasionally does not affect finding available housing. On the contrary, this extra income helps the average Greek to cope financially and make ends meet while ensuring better use of existing assets, especially in rural areas.". On the recent regulation announced in Greece on short-term rentals, Valentina Reino suggested that the impact of this measure should be reviewed in order to support families who rely on the income from hospitality to make ends meet, as well as further exempting hosts who have their main or secondary residences and rooms on short-term rentals, as they stay in them for a few months or the whole year."