The owners of European houses were forced to become hostesses and now share their living space with tourists. The reason for the involuntary cohabitation is the increased cost of living in Europe and the desire to maintain the same comfort. This was announced by Airbnb, an online service for placing and searching for short-term rental housing.
In one of its latest press releases, the company published the following data: 40% of European hosts share their homes with travelers in order to increase their own standard of living to which they are accustomed. According to the information, hosts from EU countries who hosted guests in the first half of 2022 earned a total of more than 270 million euros. On the other hand, tourists are also trying to save money and are looking for affordable travel options throughout Europe. The two sides found a mutually beneficial, though not always comfortable, solution. Residential property owners who previously would never have dreamed of renting out a room or bed to travelers are now lining up for a short-term rental site to offer their home to tourists and earn almost instant income from it.
Over the past few years, there has been a significant increase in the number of Europeans who converted part of their housing into a hostel, and themselves decided to become hostesses in order to receive travelers. It is believed that the trend for the struggle for additional income from tourists began to spread even more actively last year, when one of the statistical companies published data on the earnings of ordinary Europeans: in 2021, the average European resident earned 3,000 euros from traveler accommodation. This turned out to be an 18% increase compared to pre-Covid 2019, and is also the equivalent of an extra two months' pay for the average family in the EU.
“Renting out your apartments and houses is an economic lifeline for many ordinary Europeans, which helps them afford rising inflation and living expenses, but at the same time, onerous local regulations mean that many others are deprived of this opportunity, ”said Georgina Brose, head of EU policy at Airbnb.
< p>In addition, Airbnb data showed that EU hosts hosted more guests than any other region in the world, and collectively they have earned more than €43 billion renting their homes to Airbnb. This also explains why most European homeowners only post one listing, and many properties are located outside city centers, helping to spread the tourist benefits to local communities and families.
“Based on a survey of EU host countries, almost one in five answered that he or someone from his household works in education or health care. More than half of those who self-report their gender are women, more than half work full-time or part-time, and more than a quarter are retirees,” the service said in a statement.
It was also noted that the EU Commission is currently developing proposals for new harmonized rules in the EU, and Airbnb has put forward a vision of how to take advantage of this type of rental for Europeans, providing governments with the tools to combat overtourism.
The trend promises to be even more vibrant, judging by the fact that the monthly number of nights spent in the EU in the first half of 2022 exceeded the level of pre-Covid 2019. So, according to Eurostat, guests spent about 199 million nights in short-term rental accommodation booked in the EU through Airbnb, Booking.com, TripAdvisor or Expedia Groups.
For those who value a healthy lifestyle, we recommend reading : “The Russians were called products that cannot be frozen.”