Short-term rentals in Cyprus will come under the scrutiny of the House energy, trade, industry and tourism committee this week.

The committee is set to discuss a number of issues related to this sector, dominated by platforms such as Airbnb, on Tuesday.

Among these issues, the committee is expected to specifically evaluate the effectiveness of legislation enacted in early 2020 that regulates this sector.

This ex officio review will assess the functionality of the legislative framework, identify emerging issues, and monitor the engagement with the mandatory registration process for these accommodations.

The review will not be limited to tourism impacts alone but will encompass a broad range of issues, reflecting the diverse group of stakeholders invited to the meeting.

Among the attendees are the deputy minister of tourism, officials from the department of taxation, the town planning department, the land registry, the audit service, and representatives from the Commission for the Protection of Competition (CPC).

Representatives from the Cyprus Scientific and Technical Chamber (Etek), the Cyprus Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Keve), the Employers and Industrialists Federation (Oev) , the Cyprus Consumers Association (CCA), and the Association of Cyprus Tourist Enterprises (Stek) will also be present.

Given the complexity of the issues and the number of participants, further meetings are anticipated to allow everyone to express their views and draw meaningful conclusions from the discussions.

In related news, Airbnb’s CEO, Brian Chesky, recently shared his vision to transform the platform into a travel-related one-stop shop, akin to Amazon.

At the company’s latest earnings announcement, Chesky disclosed plans to invest between $200 million to $250 million in expanding the platform’s services beyond just short-term property rentals starting in May.

Chesky said that “We want the Airbnb app to become something similar to Amazon, to be a place you visit for all your travel and living needs.”

However, the expansion of the short-term rental market has met with significant resistance from the traditional hotel industry.

Hoteliers argue that the rapid and often unregulated growth of such rentals poses unfair competition and disrupts the housing market.

Meanwhile, Akis Vavlitis, during the recently held assembly of the Association of Cyprus Tourist Enterprises (Stek), also expressed his concerns about the sector.

“The phenomenon of short-term rentals has surfaced in such an intense and dynamic way that it has surpassed the reflexes of the institutional states,” he said.

He noted that there are approximately 80,000 to 90,000 beds provided through short-term rentals in Cyprus, matching the capacity of the legal hotel industry, yet only about a third are officially registered.

Vavlitis further emphasised the rapid rise of this sector compared to the traditional hotel industry, which took 50 years, from 1974 to 2024, to establish its current capacity of 90,000 beds.

“This parallel and unregulated activity in the hospitality sector leads to complete deregulation of residential rents,” he explained.

He added “this worsens the housing market crisis, impacting residents’ quality of life and pushing them out of city centres and tourist areas due to high rents.”

“In terms of equity towards the hotel sector, the government must immediately establish a strict regulatory framework for their operation,” said Vavlitis.

Finally, he stressed the importance of implementing safety standards and an effective mechanism for ensuring compliance with these regulations.