London Airbnb bookings soar 130%

London Airbnb bookings soar 130%

A total 4.62 million nights of accommodation were booked in the capital via Airbnb last year, up from two million in 2015 Continue reading

Bookings in London through global accommodation letting site Airbnb have soared by 130%, a new study claims.

A total 4.62 million nights of accommodation were booked in the capital via Airbnb last year, up from two million in 2015, according to research from the real estate company Colliers International.

Bookings rose by a further 55% in the first four months of this year, said the study, which was backed by Hotelschool The Hague, a hospitality business school.

The most popular boroughs for overnight stays last year were Westminster, Tower Hamlets, Camden, Kensington and Chelsea and Hackney.

Airbnb now has an estimated 9% share of the London overnight market.

Marc Finney, a consultant at Colliers, told the Sunday Times: “The surprise is, this is having little effect on the hotels.

“According to the findings of our study, many Airbnb bookings are rooms within a house – for people who weren’t going to choose a hotel in the first place.”