Filenews 22 October 2021 - by Theano Thiopoulou
Cypriots do not give their homes to foreign visitors for short-term rentals (Airbnb type), with 94% of respondents answering "never or do not" and 2% answering "I didn't want to but I did it". A Eurobarometer survey conducted in September 2021 across the EU shows that 25% of Europeans book short-term rentals through online platforms and a large majority (89%) of those who have booked consider it a positive experience, which they would recommend to others.
However, most in Europe, to the question "have you ever offered a room, apartment or house as a short-term rental through a platform?" answers negatively, with the average in Europe reaching 90%. To the question "why did you stop doing it? Why didn't you go ahead with the offer of a room, apartment or house?", 28% of the Cypriots surveyed respond that they had a bad experience with the tenants, 20% that it is not a financially beneficial move, 18% cite as a reason that the rules of the local authorities are too strict or complicated, 19% that the rules of the platform are too strict, 15% of respondents responded that there were high demands to register on the platform and the remaining percentage are "other reasons".
To the question "which of the following best describes your situation?", 17% of the Cypriots surveyed replied that they rent a room in the apartment or house from time to time and 42% of the respondents that they rent the whole house or apartment from time to time.
To the question "have you ever booked a room in a private house (not a hotel room) or an apartment or house through a short-term rental platform", 67% of respondents answered "no never", 4% answered "yes, but not now", 24% answered "sporadically", 5% answered "yes once, every few months" and only 1% "once a month or more often".
To the question "Why did you choose a short-term rental, as opposed to other types of accommodation, such as a hotel?", 79% of Cypriot respondents state that because it is cheaper, 31% see that there are more options, 25% say for experience, 39% that the location is better, 42% say that the facilities are better, to meet their needs, 23% because they like to stay with the locals and 33% respond that the review was evaluated by third parties.
When asked "if they would recommend a reservation through a short-term reduction", 45% answered "yes definitely", 44% "yes, but to a lesser extent", 8% answered "no rather" and 2% "definitely not".
To the question "What do you think are the advantages of short-term rentals?" 58% respond that it is an additional source of income for landlords, 36% say that visitors spend more money in the neighboirhoods they live in, 41% say it strengthens the local economy.
DISADVANTAGE THE INCREASED DISCOMFORT FROM TOURISTS AND IMPURITIES
When asked "what are the disadvantages", 37% of the respondents consider that short-term rentals cause an increase in nuisance from tourists, increased production of garbage, 34% estimate that house prices are being pushed upwards and available homes are being reduced.
To another question, "Are you thinking now if from short-term rentals there is a quality of life effect on your neighbourhood from this type of holiday", 8% of respondents see a positive result, 20% a somewhat positive result, 51% do not see any results and 9% somewhat negative result.
Regarding the identity of the survey, it was conducted through telephone interviews from 1 to 9 September 2021 and the coverage was pan-European. Target, EU citizens, aged 15 and over, had the number of interviews at 25,700, sample size per country, 500 in Luxembourg, Cyprus, Malta and 1,000 in all other countries.
