Greece has Made Home Sharing Easier – Here’s Why it’s Good for Greeks

Greece remains one of the most popular holiday hotspots for guests around the world. Last year, almost 1.4m guests on Airbnb headed to the ancient land of the Gods to experience its local culture, history, food and some of the world’s most beautiful landscapes.

Greece has long supported home sharing, introducing clearer rules earlier this year that allow everyone to share their homes. The new rules mean that:

• People are free to share their homes without burdensome procedures or limits, as long as they register via an online process and display their registration number
• Home sharing is recognised as a non-professional activity and hosts are not required to register as businesses
• Income from home sharing is taxed as property income.

From today, hosts can obtain a registration number at the click of a button through the new online registry launched by the Revenue Authority. Airbnb will be working closely with the Ministry to promote the online resource, making it easier for hosts to comply with local rules, and adding a field for hosts in Greece to easily display their registration number on their listing page.

Home sharing continues to bring a wealth of benefits to the local economy, tourism industry and communities. New data released today by Airbnb shows that last year:

• The Airbnb community boosted the local economy by €750 million from host earnings and guest spending.  
• The typical host earned €2,850 and the typical listing was shared for 28 nights – less than three nights a month.
• Almost 40,000 hosts across the length and breadth of Greece were opening their homes to guests wanting to experience the country like a local.  

These figures demonstrate how this new, healthy form of tourism is helping regular people create new economic opportunities for themselves in the homes and communities where they live.

Sofia Gkiousou, Public Policy Manager at Airbnb, said:

“Today’s announcement is a positive move from the Government to simplify home sharing for thousands of Greeks, and we’re pleased to be supporting them by making it even easier for hosts to share their homes responsibly. By working together, we can help more local families to follow the rules, generate new revenue streams that make our communities stronger and help expand Greece’s tourism offering.”