Short-term rentals in Poland. Where does Airbnb have the greatest impact on the housing market?

Short-term rentals are currently at the centre of public debate due to planned legislative changes intended to increase oversight of this market segment and give local authorities greater influence over the rules governing its operation. The growing popularity of platforms such as Airbnb is prompting discussion about the impact of short-term rentals on housing availability, tourism development and residents’ quality of life in the most heavily visited tourist destinations.

Against this backdrop, an analysis of the scale and concentration of short-term rentals in Poland is particularly important. This article examines data for the counties and cities with the highest levels of tourist attractiveness according to the Tourist Attractiveness Index (TAI) developed by Statistics Poland. Comparing the number of Airbnb listings with the housing stock and the volume of tourist traffic makes it possible to assess where short-term rentals play the greatest role and which local authorities may feel the effects of the new regulations most strongly.

TABLE 1. SHORT-TERM RENTAL LISTINGS IN TOURIST-ATTRACTIVE COUNTIES

source: Statistics Poland data, AirDNA.co

TABLE 2. COUNTIES WITH THE HIGHEST NUMBER OF OVERNIGHT STAYS IN Q1 2025*

* Integrated data from booking platforms and the KT-1 survey conducted by Statistics Poland

source: Statistics Poland

Warsaw leads in the number of listings

Warsaw has the highest number of Airbnb listings. There are 10,957 listings in the capital, 98% of which are apartments. According to Statistics Poland data, Warsaw also ranks first in terms of tourist attractiveness.

Despite having the highest number of listings in the country, their impact on the local housing market remains limited. Short-term rentals account for just 0.96% of the total housing stock. This means that the scale of the Airbnb market is largely offset by the city’s extensive housing stock. As a result, Warsaw remains the leader in terms of listing numbers, but it is not among the places where short-term rentals have the greatest effect on housing availability.

Cracow is the second most important market, with 7,763 active Airbnb listings. Short-term rentals account for 1.60% of the local housing stock. The city’s importance as a tourist destination is confirmed by data on overnight stays. A total of 2.2 million overnight stays were recorded there in Q1 2025, including 0.9 million by domestic tourists and 1.3 million by international tourists. Compared with the other counties analysed, Cracow stands out for its particularly high share of international visitors, who accounted for more overnight stays than domestic tourists.

The Tricity also maintains a strong market position. Gdansk, Gdynia and Sopot have a combined total of 9,766 Airbnb listings, of which 9,464 are apartments. This equates to 2.26 Airbnb listings per 100 dwellings, indicating a higher level of market concentration than in Warsaw or Cracow. Gdansk is the region’s largest market, with 7,446 active listings, and short-term rentals account for 2.64% of its housing stock. Sopot stands out even more clearly, however, with a rate of 5.64%, one of the highest in the country. The data show that the number of listings alone is not sufficient to assess the significance of short-term rentals. Sopot has more than six times fewer listings than Gdansk, but their share of the local housing stock is more than twice as high.

Zakopane is the undisputed leader in market concentration

Although Zakopane has far fewer dwellings and residents than Poland’s largest cities, it remains the undisputed leader in terms of the concentration of short-term rentals. There are 3,074 Airbnb listings in the town, of which 2,185 are apartments. This segment accounts for as much as 16.19% of the local housing stock, demonstrating the very strong impact of tourism on the housing market.

Tourist traffic data also confirm the scale of the phenomenon. Tatra County was visited by approximately 1.5 million domestic tourists in Q1 2025, placing it among the country’s most popular destinations. Heavy tourist traffic translates directly into the development of the short-term rental market and an increase in the share of properties intended for visitors.

Tourist regions with a high share of Airbnb listings

The highest short-term rental rates are found primarily in coastal and mountain regions whose economies are closely linked to tourism. It is in these areas that properties intended for tourists account for a significant proportion of the total housing stock.

On the Polish coast, Kolobrzeg County stands out in particular, with 2,928 Airbnb listings and short-term rentals accounting for 5.51% of the housing stock. Kamien County records an even higher rate of 5.71%. In both cases, the scale of the phenomenon is many times greater than in Poland’s largest cities, such as Warsaw or Wroclaw.

Tourist traffic data confirm the importance of these regions. In Q1 2025, Kolobrzeg County was among the country’s most frequently visited areas, receiving approximately 1 million domestic tourists and 0.2 million international tourists. The large number of visitors generates sustained demand for short-term accommodation, encouraging property owners to place dwellings on the tourist rental market.

A similar phenomenon can be observed in mountain regions. Tatra County remains the leader, but Karkonosze County also ranks highly, having attracted approximately 1.1 million domestic tourists. At the same time, short-term rentals account for more than 6% of the local housing stock, meaning that approximately one in every sixteen dwellings is used for the short-term rental market.

In destinations whose economies depend on tourism, the situation differs from that in large urban areas. While the extensive housing stock in metropolitan areas limits Airbnb’s impact on the local market, in tourist regions the proportion of dwellings intended for visitors is high enough to affect housing availability for residents. This applies, among other places, to Tatra County, Sopot, Kolobrzeg County and Karkonosze County. These are the locations where the effects of new short-term rental regulations may be felt most strongly.

Metropolitan areas with a moderate level of short-term rentals

The comparison reveals a clear difference between the largest cities and areas with a highly developed tourism sector. Large urban centres have high numbers of Airbnb listings, but their significance for the local property market remains relatively limited due to the extensive housing stock.

This group primarily includes Wroclaw, Poznan and Torun. There are 3,348 Airbnb listings in Wroclaw, 2,061 in Poznan and 650 in Torun. At the same time, short-term rentals account for no more than 1% of the housing stock in any of these cities, meaning that the vast majority of dwellings remain outside the tourist rental market.

Wroclaw also records substantial tourist traffic. In Q1 2025, the city received approximately 0.6 million domestic tourists and 0.3 million international tourists. Nevertheless, dwellings used for short-term rentals account for just 0.82% of the housing stock, showing that tourism growth has not led to a significant reduction in the local housing stock.

The data show that the number of Airbnb listings alone is not a sufficient measure of the impact of short-term rentals on the housing market. Although the largest cities contain thousands of listings, their share of the total housing stock remains small. The situation is different in predominantly tourist regions, where properties intended for visitors represent a significant part of the market. It is in these areas that the impact of short-term rentals on housing availability is felt most strongly.

Summary

The data analysis points to two distinct models of short-term rental market development in Poland. On the one hand, the largest cities contain the highest numbers of listings owing to their large populations and well-developed urban tourism. On the other hand, holiday destinations such as Zakopane, Sopot and Kolobrzeg, as well as mountain and coastal regions, have much higher concentrations of short-term rentals.

The findings suggest that popular tourist destinations, rather than the largest cities, are the most exposed to the effects that the growth of platforms such as Airbnb may have on local property markets.