By Konstantinos Marinakos (*)
“Short-term rentals? Airbnb? Don’t worry, it’s something innovative, functional, with no relation to hotels. It’s just people offering and exchanging apartments.” I always encountered this dynamic narrative that Airbnb and private rental platforms unleashed in the tourism industry. I was also concerned when major “gurus” of the economy (like Morgan Stanley) claimed there was no reason for concern — that this was a different type of vacation/accommodation from what hotels or other lodgings offered, and that nothing would change. Later, while short-term rental hosts did everything possible to act like hoteliers, the same “gurus” argued that hoteliers should draw inspiration from them.
Meanwhile, Airbnb has become a company of impressive size, capable of influencing governments and institutions worldwide, thanks to its roughly forty powerful investors. What is most striking about the short-term rental phenomenon, however, is the unified and widespread perception among real estate investors, as well as the strong cohesion around maintaining an unclear and relaxed regulatory framework for this form of accommodation — one that is disproportionate to that imposed on the formal hotel industry.
On the other hand, this poorly disguised desire to leave things as they are — placing a major player with a loose regulatory regime in a market where others are subject to strict rules and taxes — clearly creates an advantage for the former and essentially conditions of unfair competition.
The problem grows when one considers that various interests converge in favor of these platforms and short-term rental activity, especially in countries like Greece, where property ownership is widespread. Construction companies and a large portion of property owners have every reason to promote short-term rental activity — and the looser the (non-)regulatory framework remains, the more favorable the environment becomes for such practices on all sides.
The serious issue is that such a perception does not facilitate the free exchange of properties (as the “sharing economy” suggests) but rather undermines those who cannot escape a strict framework of rules and standards such as that which has governed the hotel sector for decades. Upon closer examination, this is yet another factor of unfair competition: licenses to open hotels are subject to rigorous spatial, technical, and operational regulations established by the state over time.
Thus, empowered by these regulatory absences, such platforms have fostered new invented dynamics increasingly accepted as realities. Especially now that Airbnb, listed on the NASDAQ under the symbol ABNB, is a stock market product, the launch of the “shocking” invention of “experiences” aims exclusively at multiplying its market value.
But let us examine one by one the urban myths that have been used to defend and justify the current unregulated state of short-term rentals:
Urban Myth 1: These platforms enrich the supply in areas underserved by traditional hotels, often boosting tourism in off-the-beaten-path destinations.
In isolated cases, this might partly hold true, but considering what has happened in recent years in Bordeaux, Berlin, Lisbon, Porto, Barcelona, and elsewhere, such a claim must be excluded a priori.
Urban Myth 2: Those renting out these properties are mostly individuals struggling financially.
According to a recent study commissioned by the Hotel Association in America and conducted by the University of Pennsylvania, “Super Hosts” represent only 3.3% of hosts but generate 28.5% of revenues, earning over 500 million dollars out of 1.3 billion total profits recorded in the 12 largest U.S. markets. Furthermore, 40% of revenues come from hosts who own multiple apartments. Multi-property hosts are the fastest-growing segment on the platform.
Is this really a sharing economy?
If one delves deeper into the concept of collaborative or sharing economy, it becomes clear that renting a home in exchange for money is nothing more than a conventional economic transaction — not sharing.
Urban Myth 3: Those who choose these platforms do so because they want to “live like locals.”
Let’s admit it — the “live like a local” idea is brilliant marketing to make the product more appealing, but it has little to do with reality. As Jason Clampet notes in Skift, “Marketing the advantages of ‘living like a local’ bypasses the fact that most visitors live like tourists — and that’s not a bad thing.” Moreover, in some cities, the explosive spread of short-term rentals has emptied historic centers, driving out residents. In many cases, even in university towns, students and specific professional groups (doctors, teachers, firefighters) struggle to find housing or affordable rents.
Urban Myth 4: Those who choose these platforms do so because they want to live an experience.
Another unrealistic claim. Most users choose these platforms to save money by using the apartment’s kitchen. This was, in fact, what major analysts previously argued. Now, Airbnb itself — according to recent studies — contradicts its own earlier narrative.
Urban Myth 5: Short-term rentals encourage the reopening of vacant apartments and the utilization of unused real estate assets.
Curious, considering that in Greece alone, it is estimated that between 700,000 and 900,000 apartments remain empty, according to data from the General Secretariat for Demographic and Housing Policy (Prodexpo 2025). At the same time, short-term rentals via Airbnb have deeply affected not only the tourism sector but also the residential, social, and commercial landscape of many areas — turning the issue into a subject of intense public, political, and academic debate.
Urban Myth 6: The complexity of the software for electronically submitting guests’ personal information is the main cause of data inaccuracy and tax evasion.
Real estate lobbies often begin with pitiful stories whenever an authority attempts to develop an effective monitoring mechanism to combat tax evasion and enforce health and safety regulations: “The poor elderly lady renting her apartment for a season cannot handle the incredibly complex software for submitting guest information.” Yet these are the same “grandmothers” who somehow manage to update availability on Airbnb’s intranet, handle payments through online banking, and sometimes even attend revenue management courses.
Urban Myth 7: Short-term rentals are unrelated to other forms of tourist accommodation (primary or secondary) and are clearly part of the sharing economy.
That’s like saying that medicine has nothing to do with pharmacies. Even the political leadership of the Ministry of Tourism, as well as the Prime Minister — considered an experienced individual — seem to believe this myth. Otherwise, it’s hard to explain why, to this day, apart from a few temporary restrictions and minor hygiene and safety compliance rules with little effect, there is still no regulatory framework for short-term rentals capable of ensuring balance in the tourism market, high service quality, and equality across all activities in the hospitality sector.
(*) Konstantinos Marinakos is Associate Professor at the Department of Tourism Management at the University of West Attica, President of the Peloponnese Tourism Organization, and Vice President of the Hellenic Hoteliers Federation.
