Cyprus recorded the second-highest rise in visitor nights at short-term rental accommodation in the European Union during the third quarter of 2025.
Malta recorded the steepest increase at 24.0%, whilst Cyprus followed with a 19.4% rise, according to EU data. Sweden posted a 13.1% increase and Greece 12.3%.
The EU as a whole recorded an 8.7% annual increase in visitor nights at short-term rental accommodation in the third quarter of 2025. Double-digit increases were also recorded in Latvia (12.3%), Germany (12.0%), Denmark (11.6%), Slovenia (11.3%), Ireland (10.7%), Finland (10.4%) and the Czech Republic (10.2%).
Bookings from major online platforms facilitating short-term stays—Airbnb, Booking and Expedia—compete intensely with hotels each tourist season, with numbers continuously increasing alongside the strong tourist years Cyprus has achieved.
Short-term rental bookings in Cyprus reached 3,015,632 in the fourth quarter of 2025, compared with 1,962,423 in the second quarter, a period outside the peak summer season. The first quarter of 2025 recorded 824,501 bookings.
However, the increase in short-term rentals drastically reduces available apartments for long-term rental, especially in tourist areas, pushing prices upwards and creating housing shortages for residents.
Short-term rental accommodation has become a popular trend for tourists due to particular characteristics not found in hotels.
In Greece, short-term rental bookings in the third quarter of 2025 reached 29,338,244, whilst France recorded 88,882,087, Spain 73,015,754, Italy 58,771,045, Portugal 20,718,878 and Germany 24,301,882.
The general picture across Europe for the third quarter of 2025 reveals a continuous increase in visitor nights through these platforms. All three summer months recorded the highest levels compared with 2024.
July 2025 reached 148.5 million visitor nights, a 10% increase compared with July 2024. August followed with 164.3 million nights, an 8% increase compared with the same month of the previous year. September 2025 continued the upward trend with 85.3 million visitor nights, an 8% year-on-year increase.
Overall, 398.1 million visitor nights were recorded in the third quarter of 2025 through the three major platforms, an 8.7% increase compared with the same quarter of 2024.
In the second quarter of 2025, Spanish, French and Italian regions remained the most popular destinations for short-term accommodation rentals through electronic platforms, with a Croatian coastal region also amongst the top destinations.
The top regions were Andalusia in southern Spain (13.3 million nights), Croatian Jadranska Hrvatska (9.6 million), French Ile de France (9.0 million) and Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur (8.6 million).
At an institutional level, parliament has unanimously amended the law on hotel and tourist accommodation regulation to ensure implementation of European provisions for collecting and sharing data on short-term property rental services.
A unified framework has been established to collect reliable information on short-term property rental in the EU, taking effect on 20 May 2026.
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