More than one in every 10 Airbnb Malta listings are located in Sliema or St Paul’s Bay, each hosting around 1,000 properties, according to a Central Bank study.

The bank’s research shows that the top five localities with listings in May were Sliema (12%), St Paul’s Bay (11.3%), St Julian’s (8.9%), Mellieħa (5.1%) and Valletta (5%).

Żebbuġ in Gozo also made it in the top 10, hosting 3.7% of the total listings.

The distribution confirms the predominance of established resort towns and could indicate the conversion of holiday homes into rental properties, according to the researcher.

But the number of Airbnb listings per locality does not seem to impact the price charged for a night there: there are only six properties listed both in Għargħur and Santa Luċija, but a difference of €150 in the average price tag of these two localities.

Overall, the average price per listing in Malta is €80.20 per night, with the most expensive locality in terms of average nightly rates being Għargħur (€169.40), while the cheapest is Santa Lucija (€18.10). According to the researcher, this could be affected by the distribution of high-end properties listed for short-term rents.

The data also shows that the highest average nightly price is charged for short-term lets on boats, followed by bungalows and villas. Hostels charge the cheapest fees.

A look at the shares of hotel and Airbnb operators, meanwhile, shows how in most areas the distribution is very close, in particular those in the Northern Harbour region.

However, there are more Airbnb operators in Gozo, the Southern Harbour and, to a lesser extent, the Western regions than the share of collective accommodation establishments would suggest, the researcher says.

“This may indicate the inability of the larger collective accommodation operators to find suitable locations for large-scale hotels in these areas, or the comparatively higher availability of characteristic properties, such as townhouses, villas, farmhouses and palazzos,” he adds.

Who owns the listed properties?

Of the 8,761 listings by 3,856 hosts for May, slightly more than a quarter were owned by individuals or companies that have only one property listing.

Another 13.7% are owned by people or companies with two listings, and more than half (58%) are advertised by owners with three or more.

This distribution points to a high proportion of commercial rather than occasional short-term rental operators.

The single host with the highest number of listings has 110 individual property listings, the second most has 80 listings, and the third and fourth have 61 and 51 listings respectively.

Short-term rentals affect communities’ quality of life

Some of these listings appear to be property management companies, who operate listings owned by third-parties, the report says.

“While the image that Airbnb serves as a secondary source of income for some families or owners may be true for around a third of the listings, there is strong evidence that listings on Airbnb are run by semi-professional individuals, or fully professional commercial operators.”

The researcher notes that while, in theory, policymakers regulate the emergence of Airbnb using evidence-based policy making, in practice, some cities do not impose any regulation, while others ban it altogether.

Airbnb guests spend a significant proportion of their expenditures as tourists in the local community.

According to the report, short-term rental concentrations ought to be avoided – as the long term effects on communities and residents may affect the character, ambience and ability of communities to persist over time.

This is especially the case if these short-term rentals are being run along commercial lines.

Short-term rentals affect communities’ quality of life, as well as neighbourhood residential prices and availability of housing.

“Policymakers ought to assess and study the implications and benefits of this industry. Such studies ought to assess if these short-term rental revenues are being taxed, how they ought to be taxed, as well as whether the revenues generated from such taxation is devolved towards authorities tasked with addressing the pressures generated by such rentals, or towards the communities and local councils most affected by the short-term rental phenomenon.”