New research on the effect of AirBnB on housing affordability in US

[joe]

Researchers in economics did some data-checking, and came to the conclusion that basically, AirBnB does drive housing costs up (although it's not the main reason for the rises).

A summary in the Harvard Business Review :
https://hbr.org/2019/04/research-when-airbnb-listings-in-a-city-increase-so-do-rent-prices

The whole research paper.

"The results in this paper contribute to the debate surrounding homesharing and its impact on the housing market. While Airbnb and proponents of the sharing economy argue that the platform is not responsible for higher house prices and rental rates, critics of home-sharing argue that Airbnb does. This paper provides evidence confirming this latter hypothesis, and it does so using the most comprehensive dataset about home-sharing in the US available to date. Moreover, this paper also provides evidence that home-sharing increases the value of homes by allowing owners to better utilize excess capacity, for example by allowing owners to rent spare bedrooms, or the entire home when on vacation."

Probably true, unfortunately. But I also suppose that what mainly drives the rise in prices in certain areas, is the rise in travel generally. This is also what made AirBnB so successful.
Too many people. Not enough room.

 

[Pauline]

I would like to see analysis showing the effect of AirBnB on hotels. It seems to me that many people now rents an AirBnB instead of a hotel, even if for a few nights. Personally, I don't want the hassle of an AirBnB for 2 or 3 nights - committing far ahead, paying in full ahead, having to coordinate to meet the owner, etc. Is AirBnB driving out small, family hotels?

 

[joe]

I would like to see analysis showing the effect of AirBnB on hotels.

Good question, and some researchers have addressed this :
https://www.bu.edu/bhr/2017/06/07/airbnb-in-boston/

Scroll down to the summary, where one of the points is :

• Key performance metrics for Airbnb and hotels indicate a strong positive correlation, suggesting that Airbnb demand is potentially different from hotel demand (i.e., they target different customer segments), and thus, Airbnb’s negative economic impacts on the hotel industry are, at best, marginal.

I would add that part of the hotel industry is trying to make adaptations in how they cater to their customers, by implementing services that AirBnB have made popular. More travelers want to feel like locals.
I suppose that the hotel industry has in any case an interest that there be more regulation applied to AirBnB.

 

[Cameron]

Vacation rentals in the US, where I've had experience, are so much more expensive than in Europe.

I had to book an Airbnb for Wrightsville Beach to join my son's family this summer. It's $250 per night for a single, before taxes, etc. Not a luxury place, either. Hotels are $300+ per night. Granted, the beach is on an island, and it's high season. I tend to pay $100-175 per night for nice apartments in Europe, during high season.

 

[BryanS]

This article covers some of the problems this concept is creating in Europe: The Guardian