A detailed study of the Lisbon short-term property rental market shows that most of the properties that now are being let were lying empty before being converted.
The study, commissioned by the national accommodation association, concludes that 59% of properties that are let to tourists were empty but only 32% of owners said the neighbours were happy.
The study, 'The Character of Local Accommodation in the Lisbon Area,' was carried out with the support of Tourism of Portugal and took 6,000 property owners as a representative sample.
As regards the real estate profile in Lisbon, the majority (86%) of properties for let are apartments, followed by houses (6.5%), lodging establishments (5.6%) and hostels (1.6%).
More than half the owners are between the ages of 35 and 54, and 68% say they have an Alojamento Local licence with lettings management their main economic activity.
Owners are particularly concerned about the tax burden, which is going up this year following changes introduced in the 2017 State Budget.
The other downside is the high degree of seasonality in the market, despite Lisbon attracting off season visitors on easy-to-arrange short breaks due to the number of airlines running flights to Lisbon airport.
The guests are mainly French (47%) and Spanish (28%): couples in 45% of cases and 40% are under 40-years-old.
Owners use social media to advertise their lodgings and about 78% advertise on reservation websites, with booking.com the preferred choice (45%) followed by AirBnB with direct reservations only accounting for one in ten bookings.
As for the neighbours, only 32% of respondents said that on balance they were “positive” about having a short-term letting business running next door.
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See also: 'Significant rise in Lisbon tourism'
For advice and information about the local lettings market, compliance and the law, contact Nalle
