There were almost 4,000 properties in Malta available at the end of December to host tourists via AirBnb, according to research obtained by CasaRooms.

This marks a dramatic increase over the past five years, when around two dozen were listed on the site when it first went international.

It is also nearly four times what it was just two year earlier.

However, if hosts are listing their property in the hope of raking in guaranteed money, they will be surprised to learn that demand already far outstrips supply, with occupancy in 2016 ranging from 23 per cent in the winter months to a high of only 71 per cent in the peak month of August.

The average for the whole year was only 44.9 per cent occupancy.

The number of properties is far less than the 2,600 licensed with the Malta Tourism Authority last November but, when he had given these figures to The Business Observer, MTA chief executive Paul Bugeja had challenged the assumption that all AirBnB hosts were unlicensed. Under pressure from the Malta Hotels and Restaurants Association which has been complaining for years of unfair competition, the MTA has increased its enforcement officers from eight to 18.

However, being licensed does not automatically translate into tax compliance, and the MHRA has repeatedly warned the government that it was losing taxes from hosts who did not declare their income, whereas its members paid their due.

CasaRooms research, however, sheds light over the real impact of AirBnB on hotel accommodation. Managing director Thomas Cremona pointed out that in the best case scenario, with full occupancy throughout August, this represented 39 per cent of the bed nights for that month.

But while hotels traditionally lower their rates in winter and low season, the already-low AirBnB rates do not have much flexibility, meaning the premium for staying in a hotel will be much narrower.

Airbnb currently lists over three million options, in more than 65,000 cities and 191 countries.

CasaRooms is holding a conference entitled Optimising Rental Property Earnings at the Palace Hotel in Sliema on March 22 during which this and other research on the state of the market will be presented. For more information contact info@casarooms.com.