Latest / STR Unpacked / Airbnb Took Your Edge. The Balkans Gave It Back.
Transcript
- Ben: Good morning and welcome to your short term rental bulletin on the 22nd of May. So I think to be honest, this week has been quite a rough week in our industry. We obviously had the e-regulation go live and to the wider picture of things that we're seeing like the Portugal's licences are vanishing, Italy's tax regime just got heavier and Airbnb somewhere released quietly absorbed half the services that used to set good operators apart. So. I wanted to show you something today, given that it is Friday, that goes slightly the other way. A bit of a more uplifting and a sign of confidence in the space. So I want to talk about Albania. Obviously non-EU and in 2025 it pulled in a record 12.5 million visitors overnight. Stays in registered accommodation hit 9.7 million with non-resident nights jumping nearly 38. Percent in a single year and the coast is where it's happening. I'm to try and pronounce these so you've got Casamali Demi and Saranda they're calling Kasami the Maldives of Europe and the operators are running Serious peak season yields on property but still cost a fraction of the amount of Croatia and Greece But here is the part that I think that you need to hear While Brussels built 27 different regulation systems that don't really at this point talk to each other, Albania did something radical. From January, individuals just declare their income through an online platform, a flat 15 % tax, no business number, no VAT trap, no destiny caps. That's the contrast. The EU spent two years building a complex maze. The Balkans are formalizing with a single login. Now, Is it perfect? No. Albania's season is brutally short and income drops off a cliff in the winter and 2025 arrivals actually showed a slow from the boom year. So this isn't free money. But while everyone's staring at the EU, the smart operators are looking east because the frontier didn't close this week. It moved. So where do you think the next wave goes? I'd love to hear your thoughts. But thank you for watching. Lots of big news this week and I'll see you next week. Thanks. Bye bye.