Vacation rental

Greece's first regulatory framework on property rentals via websites such as Airbnb, HomeAway, FlipKey and HouseTrip will introduce a 5 percent tax per night and impose a fine of 50,000 euros on owners who do not enter their details in the relevant register. Owners' revenues will also be taxed at the rates used for rental incomes (between 15 and 45 percent), depending on the income level.

The decline in house rents in Greece has slowed down to an annual rate of 3.3 percent in the year to end-August, according to figures released by the Bank of Greece on Monday.

The issue of taxing the earnings of unofficial holiday accommodation such as homes and apartments in Greece is, along with the taxation of undeclared funds deposited abroad, a key matter in talks between the Finance Ministry and the representatives of the country's creditors.

The phenomenon of subletting in areas in or near Athens's historic center is growing, as many rush to take advantage of the growing demand from the increasing tourist numbers and the popularity of online services such as Airbnb, which facilitate short-term rentals of entire apartments without a permit.

An online campaign has been started titled, “Santorini, year-round destination”, and will run for three weeks in an effort to draw more people to the island from countries such as the UK, the Netherlands, Germany, France, Austraia, Scandinavia, etc. The advertising campaign will focus on some of the most popular travel sites such as tripadvisor, lonelyplanet, expedia, airbnb and others.

Resort Greece is a tourist resort projected by Maritime Architecture Barcelona (MAB) that ensures the privacy of a visitor who flees from the noise and seeks to establish in a quiet space provided with all the comforts that guarantee a perfect stay.

The initiative Refugees Welcome started in November 2014 from Berlin aiming to create a new culture of welcome.

Since then, other countries have also participated in the program from Austria, to Spain and Portugal and now Greece.

Former conservative New Democracy minister Michael Liapis has put up his Mykonos mansion for sale. The same former, arrested at beachside Loutsa in December 2013 for traveling with fake license plates, now lives in Greece and Romania.

By Nikos Roussanoglou

The popular online home-rental service Airbnb is allowing American travelers to book lodging in Cuba starting Thursday in the most significant U.S. business expansion on the island since the declaration of detente between the two countries late last year.