Posted: 10/08/19 | October 7th, 2019
There is no rejecting that Airbnb has altered exactly how we travel. It got people out of the hotel/hostel quandary, provided locals a method to monetize their additional spaces as well as make much more income, as well as got tourists into different parts of cities, spreading the benefits of tourism around to a larger part of the community.
It wasn’t the very first business to do this, however it made this type of travel extensive as well as socially acceptable. The concept of “renting someone’s home” is now seen, not as strange or unsafe, however as a completely typical method to see a destination.
I’ve been an Airbnb individual because its early days (it began in 2008) as well as have had some fantastic experiences utilizing the service: the Swiss couple who made as well as shared dinner with me, the people in Paris who left me red wine as a welcome gift, the retirees in trips who put a candle in my breakfast croissant for my birthday, the couple in NZ who provided me veggies from their garden, as well as numerous other fantastic experiences where I got to satisfy locals as well as discover elements of life that I may not have otherwise. (I’ve likewise held some truly fantastic people too. The site works both ways!)
Over the last few years, I had gotten out of the practice of utilizing Airbnb, instead staying with friends, in hostels, or hotels on points. However, while I was on my book trip over the summer, I chose to begin utilizing the service again.
I was anxious about doing so though.
From overtourism to holds with several listings to business utilizing it to run hotels to a general “whatever” mindset toward complaints, there are a great deal of issues with Airbnb. It is no longer the whole “people renting out their space for additional money” service it markets itself as.
I’ve checked out all the stories. I’ve seen the data.
With over six million listings, Airbnb is one of the most significant booking sites out there. In the very first quarter of 2019, it booked 91 million space nights. By comparison, Expedia booked 80.8 million.
But I figured there had to be some gems on the site.
And what type of travel professional would I be if I didn’t understand Airbnb’s present state?
I went in identified to not lease locations that were not people’s houses — that is, any type of rentals run by people with several listings or residential or commercial property administration companies, which have the impact of increasing rents for everyone. While Airbnb has a great deal of problems, the “commercialization” of the service is the biggest.
The growing number of people purchasing residential or commercial property just to lease it out on Airbnb is driving lease up for locals1 as well as forcing them out of the city. A recent research study from the Institut d’Economia de Barcelona shows that lease in Barcelona’s many touristy areas has enhanced by as much as 7% between 2012 as well as 2016.2
Furthermore, in 2016 (the many recent data I might find), true house sharing, where the owner is present during the guest’s stay, accounts for less than 20% of Airbnb’s company in the United States; 81% of Airbnb’s income nationwide — $4.6 billion — comes from whole-unit rentals where the owner is not present.
A browse on the site inside Airbnb shows that a high portion of units are rented by people with several listings: in Venice, out of 8,469 listings, 68.6% of holds have several listings; in Barcelona, out of 18,302 listings, 67.1% of holds have several listings; as well as in Los Angeles, out of 44,504 listings, 57.8% of holds have several listings.
That doesn’t truly shout the “just a person renting out their additional space” design the business likes to tout.
And I discovered avoiding that a great deal harder than I believed it would be.
Even having spent hours trying to weed those type of houses out, I was fooled in London, DC, as well as Santa Monica: those listings existed solely to be rented out on Airbnb. Those photos that made it seem lived in? Faked. (And the location in London, which was expected to be a space in a guy’s house, was just a room…but in a home for Airbnb guests.)
All that time spent trying to do the best thing…and I still failed!
As this occurred over as well as over again, I believed to myself: Is it time to break up with Airbnb? Was utilizing Airbnb was worth the expense it exacts on residents as well as the time spent trying to discover gems in vain?
Being a accountable traveler is truly essential to me — however not contribute to the issues Airbnb causes.
Airbnb is one of the most significant chauffeurs of overtourism. It has produced a great deal of new lodging for travelers, which in turn contributes to higher tourism numbers.3 On the one hand, that’s good: less expensive lodging = much more tourists = much more revenue. But, when unregulated as well as integrated with the problems highlighted above, enhanced tourism kills the extremely locations we love. It becomes a vicious cycle: much more tourists = much more money = much more properties on Airbnb = fewer regional residents. However, thankfully, as I highlight in this article, a great deal of locales are combating back as well as beginning to restrict the service.
Moreover, the business doesn’t truly take action against holds behave badly. From spying on guests to rejecting last-minute bookings to substandard conditions to fake reviews, complaints against holds go unattended up until they ended up being news stories like this:
Airbnb quietly shut down a top hold amid scathing reviews, however numerous guests were delegated stay with him
Airbnb has a Hidden-Camera Problem
A disturbing video of a fierce Airbnb hold is reigniting fears of racism in the sharing economy
‘Which monkey is gonna stay on the couch?’: Airbnb hold kicks out black guests in racist exchange
British couple spends $11,800 on Airbnb rental in Ibiza that doesn’t exist
As such, I’ve discovered the client service to be truly awful as well as slanted toward hosts. There are a great deal of securities for holds however not guests. If I cancel, I have to pay a fee. If the hold cancels, there’s bit punishment. When speaking about my recent experiences with Airbnb on Twitter as well as Facebook, I discovered I was not alone. A great deal of people have discovered a decline in the high quality of the service lately. They still utilize it, however I was amazed that so numerous people didn’t do so as much as they utilized to. right here are some examples:
There are lots of people who are still having fantastic experiences with the service. As a whole, I still like it. There are some hidden gems, fantastic people, as well as awesome experiences on the website, particularly when you get out of the huge cities. (And, if you stay with staying in people’s spare rooms, you resolve a great deal of the overtourism as well as housing problems the service creates.)
But, provided the social issues it causes, the bad client service, the hassle of handling hosts, the crapshoot in quality, the cleaning as well as other charges that make the service’s costs on par with conventional lodging options, I’d frequently rather just book a routine hostel, hotel, or B&B. Those are simple, easy, as well as straightforward. (And, unlike the Airbnb I had in D.C., will include spaces that really lock!)
I don’t want to contribute to overtourism. I don’t want to cost residents out of their homes. I don’t provide my money to a business that doesn’t want to be a accountable stakeholder. (I haven’t even got to the lengths the business goes to fight against oversight, taxes, as well as regulation.)
And I don’t have all the time to spend discovering a room!
And I’m not the only one having second thoughts. look at this survey I conducted on Twitter about utilizing the service:
Those are not numbers I’d want to see if I was Airbnb. It’s clear, for many of us, the sentiment has shifted away from the service as it’s ended up being much more commercialized.
I’m not completely prepared to provide up on the service rather yet. I still believe you can discover some hidden gems as well as satisfy some fantastic people. When utilized as it was originally meant (staying in someone’s spare room), the service is magic for both holds as well as guests! I do like it as well as it’s not all bad!
And perhaps their upcoming IPO will modification its methods by bringing in new stockholders, lobbyist investors, as well as much more interest (stockholders don’t like unfavorable news stories that lowers their stock price!).
Then again, perhaps it won’t, as well as Airbnb will only get worse as well as I’ll have to stop utilizing it altogether.
Only time will tell.
But I believe the circumstance is poor sufficient where one needs to be wary of the service as well as utilize it with extreme care.
It’s not the exact same as it utilized to be.
Notes:
1: because my team as well as I have been utilizing the site a great deal this year, we’re updating our guide to Airbnb to show modifications in the service. It will be out in a few weeks.
2: You can likewise discover one more research study done by California specify university here.
3: Airbnb is not the prime cause of overtourism, however it certainly contributes greatly; the company’s wish to turn a blind eye to the issue is part of my issue with it.
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