It's a fruitful time for landlords in Albania, but only for those who rent out short-term rental properties. Between January and September 2023, revenues from properties listed on the Airbnb platform reached €45.5 million. But despite the impressive numbers, the situation in this market is far from ideal.

The fact is that not all owners officially register their properties and pay taxes on their income. For example, in September 2023, on Booking and Airbnb, there were 24,902 apartments, houses, and other objects in Albania, and at the same time, only 3,318 of them were officially registered with the tax service. 

The dynamics of the short-term rental market

Over the last year, the number of short-term rental properties in Albania has increased significantly: an increase of 25% compared to September 2022. And if compared to September 2019, i.e., the period before the pandemic, there are 120% more properties. 

As for the revenue from renting apartments and houses on Airbnb, it increased by 81% compared to January-September of the previous year. Interestingly, for the first three quarters of 2023, revenue was 2.2 times higher than the same period in 2019.

Implications

The rapid development of the short-term rental market in Albania has had a negative impact on the long-term market, with the hotel industry being particularly affected. It also reduced the profits of short-term rental owners, which is especially noticeable in the coastal areas of the country.

In general, experts state that the oversaturation of the market forces many property owners to reduce prices to attract tenants. Today, the rates for the daily rent of apartments in Albania are much lower than in some European resort cities.