Israelis seek refuge in Greece’s Airbnb

With desperate efforts and many times under conditions of panic, terror and horror caused by the war, Israelis are looking for shelter in short term rentals in Greece.

They are mainly looking for temporary shelter for their families – women and children – , away from their homeland, away from the war zone.

Greece and Cyprus, the friendly countries

After all, the Israelis feel that Greece is one of the nearby and at the same time friendly countries. They feel the same about Cyprus.

It is no coincidence that in recent years more and more Israelis have chosen Greece for their holidays.

The Israelis had even climbed into the top 5 of customers for the domestic tourism industry, along with the Americans.

It is indicative that in 2022 a historical record of arrivals from Israel to Greece was recorded, reaching 722,549 visitors

In fact, in Thessaloniki, 11% of overnight stays are from Israelis. So for many of them it is a country they know. However, this time are not coming to experience the Greek summer but are forced to leave their country one by one due to the war

Real estate in Greece

According to market players speaking to OT, Israelis coming to Greece are looking to find some property through short-term rental as they do not know how long they will need to stay to be safe  from the war.

They even prefer these properties over hotels as it is a solution for accommodation at a lower cost. At the same time real estate sales contracts with Israelis that were to proceed in the coming days are canceled one after the other or put on hold until further notice

Airbnb haven

Mr. Giorgos Kanellopoulos, a member of the Board of Directors of STAMA (an association of short-term rental companies) told OT: “It is a fact that since last week we have had cancellations from Israelis who had long booked some of our properties for their holidays and apparently as they are in the midst of war they cannot come. On the other hand, at the same time, there is an increased demand for Airbnb-style properties from people looking for refuge in Athens, away from the war.”

Most of them are looking, as Mr. Kannelopoulos tells us, for a property in the center of Athens. Still other Israelis were found by the war on vacation in another country and are using Athens as a stopover and staying in some property (airbnb) until they see what will happen.

Mr. Kanellopoulos mentions a typical case of a couple who were in Italy when the first attack by Hamas took place. “They found refuge in Athens by renting an apartment through a short-term lease until they see what they will do.”

The president of the European Union of Real Estate Agents, Kosmas Theodoridis, conveys the same picture. “Just a while ago I received another call from my Israeli client asking me if an area in Athens where he found a short-term rental house is safe for him to send his wife and children to”

Cancelled contracts

The Israelis have been flooding the Greek real estate for a long time, buying one property after another as Greece has low attractive prices compared to Israel but there is also the incentive of the Golden Visa as a result they show until a few days ago (before the war) strong interest in purchasing real estate in the center of Athens but also in the Southern Suburbs.

As the president of the European Union of Real Estate Agents, Kosmas Theodoridis reports, in recent days contracts for the purchase of real estate have been canceled one after the other: “For example, I had a very large contract canceled for a property that would have been bought by an Israeli investor, but as he informed me, he was just recruited. Some have already been drafted and some are waiting, but even if someone is not drafted and is safe away from the war, it is difficult for someone to proceed with an investment during wartime” explains Mr. Theodoridis.