Traditional hotels vs short-term rentals in Crete, Greece among the five most expensive European destinations on Airbnb, and new rules in October.

Traditional hotels vs short-term rentals in Crete

Tourism in Crete keeps growing fast, with visitor numbers staying strong even when summer’s over.

The accommodation sector’s become a real battleground between classic hotels and short-term rental platforms like Airbnb.

Despite all this rivalry, hotels in the region still fill up, often hitting around 90% occupancy. That says a lot about the steady demand through the season.

Airbnb has made significant inroads in Greece, actually ranking among the top European spots for average daily rates.

But these platforms play by different rules than hotels, which tips the market balance. Ongoing changes in oversight and regulations are trying to level things out, especially in busy places like Heraklion and the wider region of Crete.

Key Takeaways

• Tourism in Crete stays strong, with high occupancy in both hotels and short-term rentals.
• Airbnb holds a big share but faces increasing regulatory changes.
• Hotels keep pulling in robust visitor numbers, even as short-term rentals grow.

Airbnb: At 75% Capacity in Crete’s Rental Market

Crete’s short-term rental market is on a roll. Airbnb listings are seeing high occupancy and strong revenue.

The average price per night in Crete is about €176, just under the national average for similar stays.

That’s quite a jump from Athens, where rates hover around €94.50, and way below Santorini, which tops €318 per night.

Over time, Crete has pulled in €23,500 from Airbnb rentals, up 7% compared to last year. Demand’s holding up, even with more hotels and extra regulations in the mix.

For comparison, Santorini scoops up about €46,000 from rentals but has dropped 9% since 2024. Athens is around €18,000 in 2025, so the variation between Greek hotspots is pretty wild.

The region’s results aren’t the same everywhere. Different parts of Crete have their own Airbnb rhythms.

Heraklion and Lasithi are leading, with about 64% of their rental capacity on Airbnb filled. Rethymno’s next at 57%, and Chania trails with 55%.

All in all, the island uses 75% of its potential short-term rental market. That’s a clear sign Crete’s become a major player in Greek tourism.

Occupancy rates in Crete average about 61%, which even edges out Santorini, a classic tourism heavyweight. That balance between price and demand really props up the short-term rental scene.

More property owners are shifting to Airbnb to catch the tourist wave.

Key figures for Crete’s Airbnb market:

This spread shows where Airbnb and short-term rentals go head-to-head with hotels. There’s still room to grow in the less crowded spots.

Even as Crete’s Airbnb market expands, it’s not all smooth sailing. Balancing hotel competition and new rules is tricky, but the island keeps up high occupancy and steady income, which says a lot about demand for short-term rentals.

Hotels Respond with 90% Occupancy

Hotels in Crete are still holding their ground, even with Airbnb closing in. Many hoteliers complain that Airbnb units often sidestep the rules and taxes that hotels face, which feels a bit unfair.

Local industry leaders point out that even though Crete’s visitor numbers jumped by at least 7%, hotel occupancy island-wide dropped by about 10%. The rise in short-term rentals is soaking up some tourist demand that used to go straight to hotels.

Still, hotels have managed to keep occupancy solid, especially after the summer rush.

September really stands out. Hotels report occupancy rates at 90%, which is impressive as autumn gets going.

By the end of October, bookings should still be above 70%. That’s a longer tourist season than you’d expect, and it’s a big plus for the formal accommodation sector.

Key points on hotel occupancy and tourism season in Crete:

Hotels are proving resilient through the ups and downs of the tourism period. Even as alternative rental platforms shake up the market, plenty of visitors still pick hotels for their stay in Crete.

The ability to keep high occupancy into September and October shows how Crete remains appealing even in the shoulder months. Hotels offer a kind of reliability and service that a lot of tourists just prefer.

Where Airbnb Experiences Declines

Some areas are seeing Airbnb rentals slow down compared to the last few years. Even though short-term rental listings hit over 4 million in August, growth is tapering off.

For the first time since early 2022, the annual bump in new Airbnb listings dropped to 10%. That’s a definite shift from the breakneck expansion before 2024.

Occupancy rates make this clearer. Hotels held a higher average occupancy, hitting over 82% during July, the busiest summer month.

Airbnb properties nationally clocked in closer to 70%. So, hotels still seem to win out with travelers when things get busy.

Pricing trends are part of the story too. Hotel room prices jumped about 14% from June to July, but still stayed a bit below July 2024 levels.

Airbnb rates haven’t climbed as steeply, which sometimes hurts their edge against hotels in certain places.

What’s behind these trends?

• Supply growth is slowing: AirDNA and similar platforms show Airbnb listings rising, but at a much slower clip. Maybe the market’s saturated, or maybe owners are just more cautious.
• Demand varies regionally: Big cities and tourist hotspots keep Airbnb demand strong, but quieter areas aren’t seeing the same buzz.
• Price sensitivity: Travelers often go for hotels for last-minute bookings or loyalty perks, especially when Airbnb’s prices and fees creep up.
• Seasonality impacts: Off-peak periods hit Airbnb stays harder than hotels, which get business travelers or package deals to fill gaps.

Airbnb’s seasonal curve looks different from hotels’. Hotels get steady bookings in summer and business seasons, but Airbnb relies more on holiday travelers and longer stays.

This leaves short-term rentals more exposed to shifts in travel habits or new local rules.

Rising costs—maintenance, cleaning, you name it—also eat into Airbnb hosts’ profits. Some owners switch to long-term rentals to dodge these expenses.

That move shrinks the pool of short-term listings, which limits Airbnb’s growth in some areas.

AirDNA data backs this up. While total nights booked on Airbnb platforms have hit record highs, the jump isn’t as big in markets struggling to keep up.

Hosts in those spots face more competition and fewer bookings, so revenue per listing drops.

Not every market is a slam dunk for short-term rentals. Airbnb’s still popular and growing in plenty of regions, but there are clear signs of slower supply and occupancy rates compared to hotels in others.

Source: Rethemnos News

Airbnb: Greece Among the Top Five Most Expensive European Destinations

Greece sits in the top five most expensive European countries for short-term rentals. The average price per night hovers around €220.

This puts Greece just a notch below Spain, where a night averages about €223. Monaco tops the chart, with the average price shooting up to €404 per night.

Ireland comes in at €255, and the United Kingdom is close behind at €246. The numbers really paint a picture of just how pricey some European destinations have gotten.

If you’re looking for cheaper stays, Europe’s most budget-friendly Airbnb destinations include Ukraine (€47), Kosovo (€49), North Macedonia (€52), Moldova (€53), and Belarus (€66). The price gap is wild.

In May, Greece landed in eighth place for booking demand, showing a 9% yearly bump in reservations. That’s right on par with the Netherlands.

Denmark saw a much bigger jump—34%. The Czech Republic and Norway also had solid increases, at 16% and 12% respectively.

Poland, Belgium, and Germany each reported a 10% uptick, just edging past Greece. The competition for tourists is definitely heating up.

On the supply side, Greece added about 5% more rental properties in May. This trend lines up with what’s happening across Europe.

But more supply meant occupancy rates slipped a bit. Only France and Finland managed to boost their occupancy, while Greece and others saw a dip.

Norway really stood out, with over 20% growth in available listings and the biggest jump in demand. Not sure anyone saw that coming.

Curious about the numbers? You can check out Greece’s Airbnb standing in the latest market evaluations.

Airbnb: New Rules Starting 1st October for Short-Term Rentals – Inspections Begin by AADE and Tourism Ministry

Starting 1st October 2025, Greece will roll out new regulations for short-term rentals, including Airbnb. The Ministry of Tourism and the Independent Authority for Public Revenue (AADE) will team up to run inspections and check if properties meet the updated standards.

Some of the key changes? Stricter safety rules—think fire prevention, emergency lighting, and clear exit signs. Owners have to keep up with insurance and follow all official registration requirements, too.

The authorities want to keep a closer eye on more than 240,000 rental properties. AADE plans to send out notices and do spot checks, and fines for breaking the rules could go as high as €20,000.

Both owners and guests should get ready for more monitoring and checks. The government’s trying to balance tourism growth with safety and compliance. More details are over at the official announcement.

Airbnb: Changes to Commission Model – End of Separate Guest Fees

Airbnb’s shaking up its commission model to look more like other big travel sites like Booking and Expedia. From 27 October 2025, hosts and property managers using management software (PMS) or hotel-type listings will get hit with a single commission rate of 15.5% on the booking amount. If you’re in Brazil, it’s 16%. Airbnb will just take this fee straight out of the host’s payout.

This ends the old “split fee” setup. Before, hosts paid about 3% commission, and guests saw a separate service fee of 14% to 16% tacked onto their total.

Now, guests will only see one price—no extra Airbnb fees popping up at checkout. The idea is to make things simpler and more transparent for guests, which honestly sounds overdue.

If hosts don’t use PMS, they can stick with the old model for a little longer. But anyone who already picked a host-only fee system will have to switch to the new 15.5% commission starting 1 December 2025.

Airbnb says its total revenue won’t really change, even though the fees are shifting from guests to hosts. That’s a bold claim, but we’ll see.

Hosts will probably need to raise their prices to keep their earnings steady. For example, if a place is listed at $100 and the host gets $97 after the old 3% commission, they’ll have to bump it up to about $115 to net the same amount after the new 15.5% cut.

It’s a move to line up with other travel giants and make pricing clearer, but it definitely puts more pressure on hosts to find the right price. Not exactly an easy task.

All in all, price transparency is up, but hosts have to juggle more when setting their rates. If you want the nitty-gritty on these changes, check out the updated commission structure.

Airbnb Cancels the Strict Cancellation Policy – What Hosts Must Do Before 1 October

Airbnb’s about to make a big change: starting 1 October 2025, hosts can’t use the Strict cancellation policy for new listings anymore. That’s a pretty significant shift for anyone who’s relied on the old rules for predictable earnings or just peace of mind.

If you already have a listing with the Strict policy, Airbnb plans to move it to the Firm policy by default. But, if you want to stick with Strict, you’ll need to act before the deadline.

Log in to your Airbnb account—there should be a notification about the cancellation changes. You’ll have to click “Keep Strict Policy” to hold onto your current setup.

Miss the deadline? Airbnb will just switch your listing to the Firm policy, no questions asked.

The Firm policy gives guests more wiggle room—they can cancel and get a refund up to 30 days before check-in. Hosts, on the other hand, might see less revenue stability, especially if you’re in a place where bookings swing wildly with the seasons.

Airbnb’s also rolling out a Limited cancellation option, mainly for shorter stays (think under 28 nights). It’s supposed to land somewhere between Moderate and Firm, so it’s a bit of a compromise.

If you mostly host short-term guests, it’s worth checking if the Limited policy makes more sense for you. It could help you avoid too many cancellations without giving up too much income.

There’s another twist: Airbnb’s adding a 24-hour free cancellation window for guests. Starting 1 October, anyone can cancel within a day of booking and get a full refund.

This is supposed to boost guest confidence, but hosts will need to factor that in. It’s universal, so everyone’s affected.

Take a close look at your settings and update your listings if you want to keep things the way you like. If you don’t, Airbnb will just update your policy for you—could be fine, or maybe not, depending on your situation.

If you want the nitty-gritty on these changes, you’ll find all the details (and steps) here before the October deadline.

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