The supply of holiday properties in Bulgaria has increased by 30-40% in the past three years. Currently, their number exceeds 20,000. More and more customers prefer to rent an apartment or even an entire house for their vacation in Bulgaria through the respective online platforms. In just one year, the average price of a night's stay at these types of accommodations has risen by 11%-12%, said Boris Pavlov, Chairman of the Association for Tourist Properties and Innovations.

"The main reason for choosing a holiday property is the availability of more space – a kitchen, a living room, and the feeling of home– says Boris Pavlov. – Many guests prefer to keep this feeling during their vacation. It is very convenient for families with children to book one apartment instead of using several hotel rooms. This allows them to cook when they don't want to go to a restaurant, and so on. Therefore, you get more space and greater independence. There are many guests in the hotel, whereas apartments are in residential buildings where you live more like a resident."

Sofia has the highest concentration of apartments for short-term rent. This is due to the boom in the so-called weekend tourism driven by low-cost flights. However, these properties are also sought after by business travelers and digital nomads.

The average length of stay in these places is 5-6 days, which is longer than in hotels, says Boris Pavlov. Currently, a small apartment in a good location in Sofia can be rented for EUR 40-45 per hight. On the Black Sea coast, the same type of apartment costs EUR 60-70 per night.

Using these properties is significantly cheaper here than abroad. Why?

''The main reason is the state’s negligence in recent years, which has absolutely no control over the regulation of this activity. There are regulations, but there is no control over their enforcement. Our association has been trying for three years to address this issue. There are over 20,000 holiday properties in our country, but half of the owners do not register them or pay taxes, which allows them to rent them out at lower prices", explains Boris Pavlov.

In 2023, the number of overnight stays booked through online platforms for short-term vacation rentals in Bulgaria amounts to 3.5 million. For comparison, the total number of nights spent at tourism accommodation establishments is around 27 million. ''This represents 13% of the market. This is a very low percentage compared to most Western European countries'', says Boris Pavlov and adds:

"The quality of holiday properties in our country is in no way inferior to that in major European cities. I even think it is higher than in cities like Barcelona, where there has been a quota since 2011 and new properties cannot be registered on the market. The people or companies managing these properties have no motivation to provide a higher level of service, as demand is much greater than supply. They can afford to have lower quality while maintaining good occupancy rates. This is not the case in Bulgaria, because there is huge supply’’, concludes Boris Pavlov.