By Patrick Clarke
Airbnb bookings are on pace to surpass even the largest hotel companies within the next few years, according to a Barclays reserach note published last week. But that same research suggests that the platform is unlikely to become a “major player” in business travel, according to BusinessTravelNews.com’s Michael B. Baker.
Having seen its number of available rooms grow from roughly 300,000 to about one million over the past year, Airbnb has already overtaken the largest hotel companies in regard to size.
Barclays European leisure analyst Vicki Stern notes that Airbnb’s listings could double over the next year, but also claims that, regardless, it will remain “mostly a leisure player” over that time.
Only about 10 percent of Airbnb bookings are currently related to business travel.
“There is currently no regulation applied to Airbnb hosts regarding fire safety, food hygiene and insurance,” wrote Stern.
“This is a key difference to hotels, which are required to adopt strict health and safety regulations, and this is one key reason why we believe the majority of business[es] would be reluctant to send employees to Airbnb accommodation instead of a hotel.”
It still remains to be seen what level of impact Airbnb’s projected growth will have on hotel bookings moving forward, but Stern noted that the lack of a noticeable impact so far is not “reassuring.”
Steele Luxury Travel
www.SteeleTravel.com