“The data dismantles the narrative that Airbnb contributes to urban tourism problems”

2023-11-09 03:03:55

A few weeks ago, Brian Chesky, CEO and one of its founders of Airbnb, assured in an interview with Bloomberg that the platform was going through certain difficulties and that it had partly lost its essence. But Tara Bunch, global director of operations of the platform, who does not value the statements of her boss, does not believe in any case that, in the case of her European business, we can speak of bad news. “The Airbnb business continues to have really powerful European growth, especially in nights booked in the region, which have grown by 11% in the third quarter compared to 2022,” explains Bunch in an interview with LA RAZÓN.

The board believes that in Europe they have “a great opportunity to grow”, especially in countries like Italy and Spain, where they have less penetration than in others like France. In the Spanish case, Bunch assures that last year’s figures were really good, with user growth of 42% compared to 2021 and 40% over pre-pandemic levels, up to 6 million. Travelers who, as he adds, traveled in many cases in groups or families. This is the niche that Airbnb’s COO puts emphasis on because, in her opinion, it is where the platform fits. “We’re seeing more people traveling together and Airbnb is the perfect platform for that type of travel,” she says. In his opinion, hotels, which have come out harshly against what they consider an unequal and insufficient regulation of this type of platforms in Spain, and Airbnb “are somewhat different. People can use them for different purposes. But when you travel with a group or a family, I don’t really believe that Airbnb cannot be compared to hotels because Airbnb is something that has been set up so that people travel together and can be together, eat, dine together, socialize… And the hotels separate people, so it’s a different travel experience,” explains Bunch.

Both in Spain and in other countries, Airbnb has been accused from different sectors, including the hotel industry, of contributing to inflating prices in central areas of cities and expelling longtime residents. Bunch, however, assures that this is not the case. “If you look at the distribution of Airbnb and trips, you see that seven out of every ten nights booked on Airbnb in 2022 in Spain were located in non-urban areas, so the data does not give the narrative that hoteliers intend,” says Bunch. . Furthermore, he adds, “the vast majority of our hosts offer a single home and [Airbnb] It is not its main activity. They are not professional hosts. “They are normal, ordinary people who earn extra money by sharing their home,” which is why, in his opinion, they can hardly influence the rental market in such an important way.

Prices

The prices, in any case, worry the platform. In fact, among the new features that Airbnb announced yesterday to improve is the possibility that hosts can compare their price with that of other similar listings without leaving the calendar, something that will allow them to be informed in real time of local trends. The platform has also announced traveler recommendations, with 2 million accommodations that are successful among guests; as well as new evaluations and ratings to make them easier and more affordable for travelers and a listings tab so that hosts can update their listings more easily and attract more travelers.

Airbnb does not seem to be so concerned, at least outwardly, about the issue of regulations. Bunch assures that they are committed to following what is set and do not believe that cities will choose to follow in the wake of New York, which has tightened the requirements for the platform. In his opinion, their presence in cities is good because “we generate employment and we also contribute to the taxation of local economies and tourism.” In Europe, they are confident that regulation will allow the sector to “flourish and develop and ensure that everyone wins.”

Bunch is convinced of the need for the sector to move forward because, as she sees it, without the existence of platforms like Airbnb, “there are people who would not be able to travel because there are places where there are no hotels. Airbnb may be the only way that some people can travel depending on which places in the world. Furthermore, she reiterates her contribution to the economy. “If Airbnb wasn’t there, these hosts wouldn’t be making this money, it wouldn’t be reinvested in local economies, guests wouldn’t be traveling and spending money,” she concludes.