If you list your Malta property on Airbnb, you could earn as much as €2,400 a month on average, a Central Bank report has found.

There are 8,761 properties listed by 3,856 people on the online marketplace, and according to the findings, short-term rentals are significantly more lucrative than long-term alternatives.

Airbnb itself does not publish much information ,so a Central Bank researcher obtained the data from what was actually listed online in May 2019. The results could, therefore, be affected by seasonal availability and pricing.

Still, according to the bank’s research, the impact of these listings is “considerable”.

They could potentially offer as much as eight million nights, and taking the most likely occupancy rate of 70 per cent this would lead to an average price of €80.20 per night, generating revenues of €111.1 million.

While, on average, hosts would be able to earn €2,400 a month, the top 10 percent of hosts would earn nearly two-thirds of the revenues. 

Most of the hosts offer whole dwellings for short-term lets, with the bulk being concentrated around the traditional tourist areas. 

The report expresses concern about the impact of taking thousands of properties off the long-term housing market. Research shows that using a significant part of the housing stock for short-term rents is estimated to increase real house prices by 2.8 per cent in the long-run.

The amount generated for the hosts is comparable with the market rate for the long-term rental of a large property in an area with high demand.

And the figures are also based on conservative assumptions. Actual revenues could be much higher, as the study excludes extras such as cleaning and utilities. 

This makes short-term rentals significantly more lucrative than long-term rental alternatives.

Impact on traditional accommodation 

The 8 million nights that these listings can offer have to be seen in the context of the 10.1 million nights spent in collective accommodation in 2018. 

In the first quarter of 2019, around a third of tourists who stayed in rented accommodation opted for private residences.

However, in recent months, collective accommodation establishments experienced a slowdown, and the number of nights in collective accommodation actually declined, in spite of overall arrivals growing modestly in the first three months of the year.

Many are run as quasi-commercial operations

The top four hosts control 3.4 per cent of the total listings – one host has 110 listings – although this may indicate the use of property management companies, which handle rentals on behalf of property owners.  

It seems that while Airbnb may serve as a secondary source of income for around a third of hosts, many listings are run by semi-professional or commercial operators.

In numbers

Two out of every three listings are apartments, followed by houses and townhouses, and villas.

The top 10 localities are Sliema, St Paul’s Bay, St Julian’s, Mellieħa, Valletta, Gżira, Msida, Swieqi, Żebbuġ – Gozo and Marsascala.

The most expensive locality is Għargħur, while the cheapest is Sta Luċia.

A pool puts the final price up by 21% and a seaview by 14%.