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Airbnb is working hard to prevent the global travel rebound from causing a shortage of rental properties, launching a series of new tools, including AI-driven list management, to encourage more hosts to advertise on its website.
It said on Monday that the short-term rental platform has about 4 million active users, but the number of active listings on the site has remained flat in the past six months because many people continue to live and work in properties that might otherwise be rented out. .
Now, with the relaxation of lockdown measures and the vaccination of travelers, Airbnb is facing a shortage of demand in popular destinations, as the risk of influx of guests may exceed that of hosts.
The company said it has reduced the shortage of funds by simplifying the process of adding attributes to the site. New features include allowing landlords to use public record data to automatically fill in relevant information in the list and determine the appropriate price for the area.
It also introduces AI tools such as image recognition to automatically arrange pictures in a way that is most likely to attract potential guests.
The reason for this move is that with the relaxation of pandemic containment measures, analysts expect a large amount of pent-up demand.On Monday, Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky said that the company is looking forward to “the biggest [travel] Rebound”. In April of this year, he told CNBC that his company needs “millions of hosts.”
“I think it’s clear why [Airbnb] Said Steven Jankowski of AllTheRooms, a short-term rental analyst. “Even before the emergence of Covid-19, their host growth rate was still slowing down, and as the virus subsided and we reopened, it still looked stable.”
Bernstein travel analyst Richard Clarke said Airbnb is also facing challenges from online travel agencies such as Expedia and Booking.com, as well as regional hotels and hotel companies that invest in buffets during the coronavirus emergency. Greater competition.
He also pointed out that in the early days of the pandemic, Airbnb forced landlords to return guests affected by the travel ban, which caused the owners to be “uneasy.” “People worry that they are at greater risk of cancellation compared to other platforms because [Airbnb] There are really very flexible terms,” Clark said.
According to the company’s filing documents, in the first quarter of this year, Airbnb’s average daily rent rose to $160, an increase of 35% over the same period in 2020.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, many of Airbnb’s bookings have moved to destinations outside the densely populated urban areas, which used to be the cornerstone of its business. For example, the company said that by 2021, there will be more searches on Airbnb for places to stay in Cornwall than in London.
The company said that the nature of Airbnb accommodation has also changed. In the first quarter of this year, longer stays (28 days or more) increased to 24% of all stays, compared to 14% in 2019. As of April 30, 2021, Airbnb stated that New York City is a long-term residence.
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