- Over 21,000 short-term rentals now listed in Crete
- Local wages cannot compete with tourist prices
- Young people are being priced out of their hometowns
- Chania, Rethymno, and Heraklion are hotspots of the crisis
- Multiple villages report “Airbnb ghost towns” in winter
- Activists call for regulation, taxation, and rent caps
- Some municipalities are pushing back—with mixed results
The Rent Is Too Damn Mythical
Imagine being born in a Cretan village, growing up with olive trees and sea salt in your lungs—and then being told, at 27, that you cannot afford a one-room flat because someone from Oslo booked it for €160 a night. This is not a future fear. This is 2025.
Airbnb has transformed Crete’s housing map. What used to be grandma’s spare room is now a minimalist, rattan-draped “sunset nest” for couples who want “authentic vibes.” Meanwhile, locals are couch-surfing with cousins or moving inland.
The Numbers (Brace Yourself)
- 21,340+ short-term listings across Crete
- Over 9,000 in the Chania region alone
- Rent increases (since 2020):
- Chania: +61%
- Heraklion: +48%
- Rethymno: +52%
- Vacancy rate for long-term rentals in central Chania (2025): <2%
- Average local salary: €820/month
- Average 1-bedroom flat in city center (if you can find one): €730/month
What Locals Are Saying
“I was born here. But the only way I can live here now is if I pretend to be a tourist and book my own island for a week.”
— Kostas, 29, freelance designer in Chania
“Our village is full in August and empty the rest of the year. We are actors on a stage built for someone else.”
— Eleni, 66, in Archanes
“We need rules. Not just raki and reviews.”
— Municipal official, anonymous
Resistance, or at Least a Pause
Some local councils are not sitting still. In 2025, the Chania municipality introduced new guidelines, including:
- Caps on licenses per neighborhood
- Fines for unregistered properties
- Incentives for long-term rental landlords
- Winter-use mandates in select villages
The results? Mixed. Enforcement is patchy. But the message is clear: the party is not going unnoticed.
The Airbnb Tourist vs. The Airbnb Resident
Most tourists do not know. They scroll, book, and sip Cretan wine on the terrace while the neighbor across the alley silently packs their life into cardboard boxes. This is not their fault—but it is everyone’s problem.
Short-term rentals have their place. But when that place is every place, Crete stops being a home and becomes a commodity. A product. An illusion.
No one wants to kill tourism. It is the lifeblood, the olive oil of the Cretan economy. But unchecked Airbnb is turning villages into Instagram dioramas and cities into luxury dorms. If we do not act, the only people left on the island will be hosts, guests, and ghosts.
