Euromonitor adds short-term rentals to lodging analysis to reflect rise of Airbnb and HomeAway

Euromonitor adds short-term rentals to lodging analysis to reflect rise of Airbnb and HomeAway

Industry analysts at Euromonitor International have added a short-term rentals category to its lodging industry sector to reflect the rise of the sharing economy.

Industry analysts at Euromonitor International have added a short-term rentals category to its lodging industry sector to reflect the rise of the sharing economy.

In its first analysis including this sector it charts growing influence of the likes of Airbnb and Expedia-owned HomeAway.

He key finding is that short-term rentals have been outperforming hotels since 2011 in value sales, although this lagged behind volume growth.

The latest Euromonitor report highlights the changing expectations from business travellers and the established offline trade in many countries.

It finds legislation is still catching up in many countries and includes insights on the legislative approaches towards Airbnb in New York, Paris, Barcelona, Amsterdam.

The research also found the average age of Airbnb users has steadily increased over the past years and is currently around 35 years.

For HomeAway the average age of users is over 45 as it has a stronger appeal to larger families.

In only a few years, Airbnb and HomeAway sales have caught up with the top five hotel chains, although they are still significantly lower than Marriott and Hilton’s sales.

Wouter Geerts, travel analyst at Euromonitor, said: “The economic crisis that started in 2008 is often cited as the turning point for short-term rentals, and when comparing volume growth for hotels and short-term rentals it is clear to see that the number of outlets (or listings, as most online platforms call them) for the latter has grown rapidly and exponentially over the past five years.

“This growth in outlets did not automatically translate into a growth in value sales, and hotels outperformed short-term rentals value growth in 2010 and 2011.

“Since then, however, short-term rentals have also outperformed hotels in value sales, as consumer awareness grew, online platforms such as Airbnb and HomeAway increased geographical coverage, and consumer confidence in booking short-term rentals rose. Value growth, however, continues to lag behind volume growth.”

Looking at different regions, the Euromonitor report indicates:

• In Western Europe hotels have registered losses over the past five years, while short-term rentals have seen extremely healthy growth;

North America has seen the largest absolute growth in the lodging industry over 2010-2015, with mid-market hotels outperforming short-term rentals;

• In Asia Pacific, all hotel types, including budget hotels, outperformed short-term rentals in absolute terms;

Latin America seems to support the statement as short-term rentals have seen astronomical growth, while budget hotels are declining.