The analysis presented in this report demonstrates the extent that flexible living is becoming an embedded part of the overall hospitality offer of a city. The advent of multi-listers underpins the shift in the ‘professionalisation’ of this niche sector. Yet as the scale of Airbnb and flexible accommodation grows, the lack of regulation becomes a greater concern. This has resulted in several cities introducing legislation for Airbnb over the past few years.
It is clear that Airbnb is here to stay and has become a mature alternative for traditional hotels in many markets. The benefit for cities is that with Airbnb, guests have more options to choose from and it’s also a cheaper alternative to hotels – especially in locations where there is a lack of good lower-budget level accommodation.
It is also interesting that despite the growth of the sector we’re seeing relatively little negative impact on the hotel sector with hotel markets achieving similar results to last year. In a lot of ways, Airbnb is a different product offer, and one that now benefits from better visibility. If cities are to better manage Airbnb offerings and their ilk, it needs to be done in a manner which does not limit budget accommodation options across cities, for which there is clear and growing demand.
