Professionalisation of short-term rentals and emergent tourism gentrification in post-crisis Thessaloniki

This paper contributes to research on short-term rentals (STRs), their suppliers and impact housing the local community, focusing Thessaloniki, a recessionary city off tourist map until recently. Through conduction of in-depth interviews with hosts other key informants, analysis quantitative data Airbnb listings, I argue that: (1) far from enabling sharing economy, facilitates (re)investment in by different types hosts. But investors outcompete amateur contribute professionalisation STRs concentration revenues. (2) extraction higher rents through leads displacement tenants gentrification cities previously considered as ungentrifiable, driven increased tourism character these rentals. However, type scale involved, are conditioned contextual differences position international competition attract tourists.