Study: Greeks Still Not Keen on Sharing Economy

Greeks still haven’t warmed up to the sharing economy with a mere 15 percent opting to book a short-term rental online compared to 46 percent of Luxembourg nationals and 21 percent of the EU average, a 2019 Eurostat survey found.

More specifically, according to the EU statistical agency, besides Luxemburg, Ireland (34 percent) and Malta (30 percent) were among the EU states where online peer-to-peer transactions for accommodation services were most popular with the Czech Republic (5 percent), Cyprus (5 percent), and Latvia (8 percent) demonstrating the lowest preference to do so.

In terms of online peer-to-peer bookings for transport services, Estonia (29 percent), Ireland (26 percent), and Malta (25 percent) were in the lead, with Bulgaria, Greece, and Cyprus – all at 2 percent – at the bottom of the list.

Eurostat’s survey examined the use of ICT – websites or apps – to book sharing accommodation or transport in the preceding 12-month period.

According to the findings, 21 percent of EU nationals aged 16 to 74 reserved accommodation online and 8 percent booked transport services.

Despite the fact that a significant number of Greeks have resorted to home-sharing to boost their income, particularly during the crisis period with over 94,000 properties currently listed on accommodation platforms, Greeks appear to be wary of the practice.

According to market analysts AirDNA, Greek listings on Airbnb and Homeaway increased by 24 percent in a year from December 2018 to the same month in 2019.

At the same time, according to the same data, bookings for short-term (sharing) rentals more than doubled in 2019 to 50,595 from 24,397 in 2018 with the number of overnight stays up by 95.1 percent.

Earlier this month, AirDNA’s international sales manager, Aimee Trusler suggested that Greece was at a critical point, heading towards market saturation due to oversupply.