AirBnB is competing with hotels.
Short-term rental company Airbnb has become a major player in the hospitality business, but is it on the level? A recent industry report shows that the home-sharing service may actually be giving some commercial business operators an unfair and illegal advantage.
Home-Sharing or De Facto Hotels?
Airbnb has widely publicized its concept of matching travelers with people renting out space in their homes. According to a recent report sponsored by the American Hotel & Lodging Association and conducted by CBRE Hotels America, true home-sharing accounts for less than 20 percent of Airbnb’s business.
So what makes up the rest of Airbnb’s multi-billion-dollar revenue? The report states that it comes from “whole-unit rentals where the owner is not present,” which skate dangerously close to being commercial properties like hotels yet are not subject to the same regulations and taxes.
Findings are based on data from Airbnb’s bookings over a two-year period from October 2014 through September 2016. More than 50 percent of the company’s revenues in Miami and Oahu, two major travel destinations, came from hosts with multiple units as opposed to individual residences.
Airbnb Answers Back
Not surprisingly, Airbnb is refuting the report’s findings. Company spokesperson Ben Breit claims that many of their commercial listings actually come from AHLA member properties.
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