Greek Airbnb hosts call for platform subsidies over COVID-19 shutdown

ATHENS – With hotels and short-term rental units barred from operating in Greece to help stop the spread of COVID-19, owners of properties being let out for Airbnb want the parent company operating the system to subsidize some of their losses.

Scores of thousands of apartments across Greece’s capital and elsewhere have been converted from long-term units to short-term, driving out permanent residents in favor of tourists who bring more income, all lost for now during the shutdown.

Greek property owners, said Kathimerini, want Airbnb to let them take part in a $227 million subsidy program that would pay property renters 25 percent of their lost income as long as people are not allowed to use the units.

The Airbnb partial payments would cover bookings for the period from March 14-May 31 in an attempt to shore up the scheme that otherwise could collapse after the lockdown is over, breaking the company and making property owners looking to return to long-term rentals after driving out residents and changing neighborhoods.

Airbnb payments to hosts will be made on a monthly basis, one at the end of April and another at the end of May but it’s unclear whether the company will cover properties worldwide or just in the United States and a few other key destinations.

Property owners also said the small subsidy would not be nearly enough to cover losses and could jeopardize their ability to go forward after the lockdowns in many countries end and they would have to go back to looking for long-term renters if possible.

Read more at thenationalherald.com

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