Airbnb’s newly introduced options have impacted overly touristy destination bookings and peak dates need to be distributed more evenly, with the aim of sustainable tourism.
According to a press release from the accommodation platform, by adding new categories, Airbnb is diverting bookings from Europe’s most saturated tourist hotspots to more sustainable tourism trends, SchengenVisaInfo.com reports.
A report by Nathan Blecharczyk, the co-founder of Airbnb at the Web Summit, found that flexible search features such as “Categories” introduced in May 2022, “I am flexible” (May 2021) and “I am ( Even Plus) Flexible (November 2021), have implemented a new way to search for travel and provide a technology-driven solution to combat mass tourism by helping customers discover new places beyond hotspots The report shows that one in 20 stays on Airbnb are currently booked using this feature.
“We want Airbnb to be part of the solution to the challenges associated with tourism growth and support sustainable travel trends,” said Nathan Blecharczyk, co-founder and chief strategy officer of Airbnb.
Additionally, the new report shows a shift in bookings from major destinations to less popular locations, in both urban and rural areas. This trend continues although pre-pandemic travel habits return.
The report results show that guests who used these research tools book one of the top 20 destinations on Airbnb in Europe less often, down 17.5% from a year ago. Additionally, these guests more often booked less-visited communities ranked outside of Airbnb’s top destinations, with those numbers jumping from 35.5%.
Additionally, guests booking Airbnb’s flexible search tool, which offers the ability to include a location without dates, are more likely to book outside of the top 10% of dates booked, with those rates dropping by 7. 3%, and are more likely to book. on weekdays, with an upward trend of 5.7%.
The report also reveals that booking patterns have changed across Europe, with flexible bookings remaining outside of Amsterdam, 32.5% more than the previous year.
In Barcelona, customers who book with flexible tools are more likely to book in the two most popular areas of Ciutat Vela and Example, compared to traditional bookings, with both rates decreasing from 7.1% to 13.4%, respectively.
The same happened with customers in Lisbon and London, with customers more likely to stay outside the city center, 42.6% and 29% for each city, respectively.
Comments are closed.