Short-Term Rental in Tunisia: What Property Owners Learn (Too Late)

Tunisia welcomed 9.4 million tourists in 2024. The sector had been waiting years for that figure, and it triggered something fairly predictable: a rush towards short-term rental. Apartments that had sat empty, suburban studios no one would have imagined renting out to travellers — suddenly, everyone wanted their slice of the Airbnb pie.

This is good news for Tunisian real estate. But it's also the moment when a significant number of mistakes start repeating themselves, made by genuinely motivated owners who simply weren't prepared. What follows isn't a list of generic advice — it's what we observe in the field, week after week.

The boom is real. But it isn't uniform.

When people talk about a "short-term rental boom in Tunisia," they're actually referring to several very different markets that coexist. There's Tunis and Greater Tunis, with its sought-after residential neighbourhoods — La Marsa, Gammarth, Sidi Bou Said, Lac 2 — which attract a mixed clientele of international travellers and business professionals. There's the north-eastern coast, with Hammamet, Nabeul and Mrezga, highly seasonal but capable of generating remarkable income over June to September. And there are emerging segments, such as Zaghouan or mountain areas, which are tapping into a demand for "nature" and local escapes that remains largely unexploited.

These markets don't operate by the same rules. A well-located apartment in La Marsa can run at 72% occupancy over the year, with a stable clientele even in January and February. A studio in Hammamet might achieve 22 nights in July and 4 in November. Annual profitability can be similar — but the risk profile is radically different.

What new property owners consistently underestimate

The first thing is seasonality. Everyone knows summer is high season. But what people rarely measure before they start is the true amplitude between July and December. For a coastal property, it can represent a ratio of 1 to 8 between the best month and the worst. Concretely: you generate 4,200 DT in August, and 520 DT in January. Do your fixed costs absorb that trough? Did you factor this into your profitability calculation?

The second thing is competition. The number of active listings on Airbnb in Tunisia increased by 67% between 2021 and 2024. This means that if you enter the market today with an average property, passable photos and a price pegged to your neighbour's, you have no particular reason to attract bookings. Guests have a choice, and they exercise it carefully.

The third thing — and this is the most insidious — is review management. A 3-star review in the first few weeks of your listing can potentially mean months of trying to recover. Airbnb's algorithm severely penalises properties with mediocre early reviews, and the damage is often done before the owner even understands what happened.

Tunisian market specificities that are rarely addressed directly

The Tunisian short-term rental market is two-headed: there are international travellers — Europeans, with French nationals leading, but also Gulf tourists who represent a growing segment — and there are Tunisian travellers themselves. The latter make up a significant share of demand, especially for coastal properties, and their behaviour is different: later bookings, often longer stays (one to two weeks), and high expectations in terms of value for money.

The question of pricing is also more complex than it appears. International travellers are happy to pay in euros or dollars — but Airbnb displays prices in the local currency, the Tunisian dinar (DT). You therefore need to think simultaneously in DT for expenses and in euro equivalent for international competitiveness. An apartment at 200 DT per night in July is less than 60 euros — hard to beat for a comfortable place to stay in a safe country with extraordinary cuisine. But that same property must cover DT-denominated costs that don't fluctuate with the exchange rate.

The regulatory question — addressed with nuance

We're regularly asked about the state of the legal framework for short-term rental in Tunisia. The honest answer: it's still taking shape. There is no specific law today regulating short-term rental between individuals in the same way France's Alur law does. That doesn't mean it's a legal vacuum — tax obligations apply, rental income must be declared — but the formal framework is evolving, and property owners would do well to stay informed and work with an accountant familiar with the sector.

What is certain is that the professionalisation of the sector naturally pushes towards greater structure. Property management companies like Nexstay work with registered owners and support transitions as the framework evolves.

Classic mistakes, told without condescension

First, wrong pricing. Many property owners set their price by looking at their immediate neighbourhood, without accounting for fine-grained seasonality, events (Carthage Festival, Ramadan, Tunisian and French school holidays that don't coincide), or the quality positioning of their property. The result: too expensive in low season, too cheap in high season. In both cases, income is left on the table.

Then, photos. This is the guest's first contact with your property, and yet it's often treated as a formality. Photos taken with a smartphone on a late afternoon in a cluttered apartment produce a cluttered apartment. A professional photographer for a one-hour session costs between 250 and 400 DT — an investment recovered on the first additional booking it generates.

Finally, the absence of clear house rules. Without ground rules defined in advance, each guest interprets the property in their own way. And when a problem arises — a damaged piece of furniture, a neighbour woken at 3 am — the owner finds themselves in a difficult position to seek accountability.

The reality of income — neither miracles nor disasters

A well-prepared two-bedroom apartment in La Marsa, well photographed, well managed: between 1,600 and 2,800 DT per month over a full year, with peaks of 3,500–4,000 DT in July–August. It's not a fortune, but it's a solid supplementary income for someone with reasonable charges on the property. A studio in Hammamet can generate 6,000 to 8,000 DT over June to September, and almost nothing for the rest of the year. The annual average is often disappointing — but if the property is paid off and the costs are low, the numbers can still work.

What to avoid is projecting solely based on high season. Multiplying July's income by twelve has never worked out for anyone.

The Tunisian market has genuine strengths: a cost of living that makes prices competitive for international visitors, a unique cultural and culinary heritage, a network of expatriates and TRE (Tunisians Residing Abroad) that generates steady demand, and a summer season that attracts millions of visitors. These advantages are real. But they don't exploit themselves — they need to be presented with care.