Airbnb Growth Continues To Hurt Hotel Occupancy, RevPAR Analysts Say
Airbnb has increasingly become a big concern for the hotel industry, having as wide an impact on hoteliers RevPar as new supply coming online would. A recent Morgan Stanley report shows Airbnb is growing faster than expected, at the expense of hotels.
The bank's report reveals that Airbnb adoption has risen to about 18% of travelers, according to the 4,000 consumers from the US, UK, France and Germany that were surveyed. As the peer-to-peer travel startup continues to gain momentum, Morgan Stanley report lead Brian Nowak says they "believe Airbnb has been almost double the threat to hotels in 2016 than previously believed, and the threat is growing," Bloomberg reports.
Still, Airbnb's major regulatory hurdles as of late may impact business in the near future. In San Francisco, critics allege Airbnb rentals cut down on affordable housing units, further exacerbating the housing crisis in places like the Bay Area. While in New York, Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed a bill last month that would fine users who illegally list properties on the platform. [Bloomberg]
