Families and individuals are no longer seeing their home as a shelter, but as an asset that must be worked on every month, whether through short-term rentals for tourists or long-term residential contracts.
About 26.3 thousand apartments and other residential units were available for rent during 2025. These units generated a record income of 134 million euros, with an increase of 23.4% from the previous year. But, increasing competition has reduced the profit per apartment. In contrast, long-term rental prices are increasing at a high rate, “distorting” the market. Which cities are the most developed in the short-term rental business? How much is earned from renting by months and days and long-term? Is it worth buying an apartment to rent it out?
Families and individuals are no longer seeing their home as a shelter, but as an asset that must be worked on every month, whether through short-term rentals for tourists or long-term residential contracts.
Quick profits from rent are looking increasingly attractive, changing the behavior of owners, the balance of the housing market, and especially the profits they are bringing in over the last two years.
Albania's return to a tourist destination led many people to rent out their homes for short periods, competing with hotels, but also attracting many foreigners due to cheap daily prices compared to other European countries.
Data from AirDNA, the analytical unit of the Airbnb rental platform, made available to "Monitor", shows that across the country, on average in 2025, 26.3 thousand apartments were rented through the Airbnb rental platform, up from 21 thousand the previous year, with an increase of 25.3%.
This figure represents almost 3% of the total housing units in the country (around 1.08 million) according to INSTAT, or 6.1% of apartments in buildings (432 thousand).
The number of those who have chosen to let their homes available to strangers for days has increased significantly. In January 2021, when the earliest data available from AirDNA is, about 6.2 thousand apartments or other residential units were rented through Airbnb, or 4 times less than today.
The addition of these daily units has increased the income generated from overnight stays of third-country nationals, most of whom are foreigners. According to data from AirDNA, in 2025, a total of 134 million euros were generated from rentals in Albania, a record level ever recorded in the country. Compared to the previous year, income has increased by 23.4%.
The development is evident in the last two years and coincides with the increase in the entry of foreign nationals into the country, which reached 11.7 million in 2024 and exceeded 12 million in 2025. With daily rental prices that are cheaper than hotels and the higher number of people that can stay in an apartment, the demand for these accommodation units remains high.
Compared to 2021, this market only circulated 14.6 million euros.
By month, the period from June to September is the one that generates the most revenue, linked to the seasonal trend, where many foreign citizens head to the coast.
The peak is always in August, where in 2025 37.2 million euros were collected, or 24.4% of the total.
In July and August 2024, around 30,000 residential units were rented out daily across the country on Airbnb. This is also the period with the highest demand. 65-67% of these units were booked for at least one day during this month, according to AirDNA.
“Home rental is a growing market,” says Stella Dhami of Colliers International. She adds that as long as there is no intervention in this market, this trend will continue.
"A 'hotel' submarket has been created for family tourists and youth with a low budget, given that the typology of tourists we attract is low cost."
Net stays reach record in 2025
The boom in tourism has brought a strong increase in overnight stays in structures rented out through the Airbnb platform.
In total, for 2025, 2.36 million overnight stays were recorded through this platform, with an increase of 22.8% on an annual basis.
The highest number of overnight stays was recorded in August, with 444 thousand, an increase of 28% compared to the same month a year ago.
Increasing supply reduced the daily rental price, starting in August
AirDNA data shows that the average daily price in Albania for a rental residential unit fluctuates from 40.7 euros in March to 73.4 euros in August.
Unlike what has happened in other countries, prices have not seen any significant increases in recent years, due to the high competition that has come from the increase in listed apartments.
The average of 74 euros in August comes as a result of high prices in coastal units, mainly in Vlora and Saranda, which reach 86 euros in August, in Durrës, 80 euros/night, while in Tirana, the average daily rent does not exceed a maximum of 45 euros even at the peak of the season.
According to data from AirDNA, the average rental price was 56.71 euros in 2025, an increase of 0.5% compared to 2024.
But increased competition in housing offers has led to a downward trend in prices, especially from August to the end of the year. In August, the average rent was 73.4 euros, down from 74.7 euros a year earlier.
Real monthly income is down by over 4%, the exchange rate is another blow
The effective return from daily rental, in most cases, is modest due to strong competition in the market and low daily rates. However, in Albania, decisions for this type of investment are often not based on long-term profitability analyses.
Homeowners and other individuals joined the trend, significantly increasing the number of apartments offered for short-term rental, driven by the belief that this form of leasing guarantees easy and quick profits.
Një apartament mund ta japësh me qira ditore nga 40 – 80 euro, por jo i gjithë muaji është i zënë. Sipas statistikave të AirDNA, norma e zënies varion nga 44% në tetor deri në 66% në gusht.
Mesatarisht norma e zënies ditore ishte 54% në vitin 2025, nga 55% një vit më parë. Kjo do të thotë se në një muaj, shtëpia është e zënë për 15 – 16 ditë, përveç muajve të verës, kur mund ta japësh edhe për më shumë se 20 ditë.
Treguesi RevPAR (të ardhura për qiranë e disponueshme), – i cili tregon të ardhurën reale ditore bazuar në arkëtimin e një muaji dhe që jep një ide më të qartë të shëndetit të tregut sesa shifrat e larta të të ardhurave totale, – në vitin 2025 luhatej nga 18.6 euro në nëntor në 48.5 euro në gusht, me këtë të fundit që rritet nga zonat bregdetare.
Për pjesën më të madhe të vitit, e ardhura ditore nuk i kalon 25 euro.
Mesatarisht, në vitin 2025, treguesi i të ardhurave reale (RevPAR) ishte 30.7 euro, me rënie të lehtë (-1.4%), në raport me 31.1 euro, që ishte një vit më parë. Treguesi është më i lartë në Vlorë e Sarandë (37.5 euro), Golem (34.2 euro), Durrës (33.6 euro). Në Tiranë, fitimi mesatar neto ditor është 25 euro.
Me një mesatare të thjeshtë, e ardhura mujore nga qiradhënia ditore në Shqipëri është 900 euro në muaj, duke u luhatur nga 1125 euro në Vlorë e Sarandë, rreth 1000 euro në Golem e Durrës dhe 750 euro në Tiranë.
Kjo është një e ardhur bruto, pasi duhet të hiqen shpenzimet si pastrimi, energjia, amortizimi, kosto të tjera të riparimit e zëvendësimit të pajisjeve, etj., që mund të arrijnë nga 100 deri në 200 euro në muaj.
Një tjetër faktor që ndikon është euro. Mesatarisht, 1 euro u këmbye 97.8 lekë, nga 100.7 një vit më parë. Për krahasim, në vitin 2024, e ardhura mesatare ishte 933 euro (neto ditore 31 euro), e konvertuar në monedhën vendase ishte rreth 94 mijë lekë.
Në 2025-n, e ardhura neto mujore ishte 920 euro (31.7 euro në ditë) dhe e konvertuar me kursin e atij viti ishte rreth 90 mijë lekë.
Fitimi real ka rënë me 4.2%, i ndikuar si nga kursi, ashtu dhe kthimi ditor pak më i ulët.
Kthimi nga qiradhënia ditore
Mesatarisht, në 2025-n, e ardhura reale ditore nga qiradhënia përmes platformës Airbnb në rang vendi është 30.7 euro. E ardhura mujore nga qiradhënia ditore në Shqipëri është 900 euro, duke u luhatur nga 1125 euro në Vlorë e Sarandë, rreth 1000 euro në Golem e Durrës e 750 euro në Tiranë. Kjo është një e ardhur bruto, pasi duhet të hiqen shpenzimet si pastrimi, energjia, amortizimi, kosto të tjera të riparimit e zëvendësimit të pajisjeve, etj., që mund të arrijnë nga 100 deri në 200 euro në muaj.
Në praktikë, ky model i qiradhënies afatshkurtër funksionon më mirë për ata që e kanë kthyer qiradhënien në aktivitet të strukturuar, duke menaxhuar disa apartamente njëkohësisht dhe duke ulur kostot për njësi, ose për pronarët që disponojnë banesa në pronësi dhe nuk i përdorin vetë.
One business solution that many people tried was to rent a unit monthly and rent it out by the day, attempting to profit from the difference.
One of them was Erion, who decided to rent an apartment in the Paris Municipality area of Tirana, with the intention of later renting it out on a daily basis. The monthly rent was 500 euros, while the price per night ranged between 35 and 55 euros.
In practice, the apartment was only occupied for half the month. In addition to the rent, the monthly fixed expenses ranged from 150 to 200 euros, including energy, cleaning, the supply of basic products, the replacement of damaged appliances, as well as the commissions of the Airbnb or Booking platforms, which ranged from 7% to 14%.
Average monthly income was around 700-800 euros, while in the best months of August and September it reached up to 1,100 euros.
However, the net profit remained limited, from 100 to 400 euros per month, a level that proved insufficient for the time and commitment required. Today, Erion has given up on this experience and says he would not undertake such an initiative again.
Airbnb, a strong competitor to hotels
At the end of 2024, the accommodation and food service sector accounted for 4.1% of Gross Domestic Product, the highest level ever recorded, according to data from INSTAT. Until 2017, accommodation and food service contributed less than 2% of GDP.
In value, accommodation and food service produced 176 billion lek, or nearly 1.8 billion euros in 2024, according to INSTAT, reaching a record level, influenced by the momentum of tourism.
However, data from AirDNA shows that the short-term rental tourism sector has experienced significant expansion, significantly competing with hotels.
For example, the income generated through rentals alone from the Airbnb platform in 2024 was 135 million euros, while there were an average of about 26 thousand listed residential units.
Alongside Airbnb is another platform, Booking.com, for which there is no detailed data, but market players claim that it brings in more tenants and a large part of it, apart from hotels, still remains informal.
For comparison, the 12 largest hotels in the country, together, in 2024, generated around 10 billion lek, or 100 million euros, almost as much as the Airbnb platform in 2024 (around 108 million euros).
INSTAT reports that for 2025, a total of 9.6 million overnight stays were recorded in the country. Other AirDNA data shows that through the Airbnb platform alone, the demand for overnight stays was 2.36 million, or almost 25% of officially declared overnight stays./Monitor.al
