Airbnb set to compete with lettings agents for longer rentals

Co-founder and CEO Brian Chesky says the company is eyeing longer-term rentals as a lucrative new area of business, putting his firm soon in direct competition with some agents.

Airbnb is planning to compete with letting agents for ‘medium-length’ tenancies of between one and three months, its co-founder has revealed, sahing he sees possible new revenue streams beyond its core short-term or holidays lets business.

Brian Chesky (main image), Airbnb Co-founder and CEO, told a conference in New York this week that rentals of 28 days or longer represented a “huge growth opportunity” for the firm.

He was responding to a rise in bookings between 30 and 90 days in recent years, saying what he terms ‘long-term rental stays’ now accounted for between 17-18% of Airbnb’s overall business, compared to pre-Covid pandemic levels of 13-14%, he said.

Response to restrictions

The move is also being seen as a response to the introduction of restrictions on short-term rentals in markets where Airbnb is active.

Cities such as New York and Barcelona are taking steps to outlaw short-term rentals altogether, while other destinations such as Budapest, Athens, Lisbon and Madrid are banning Airbnb listings in certain districts or halting new licences to open up affordable housing for residents. In the UK, Edinburgh has also moved to force Airbnb landlords to register their properties or face fines.

And in England, under plans introduced by the previous Conservative government, holiday lets advertised through platforms such as Airbnb will soon need planning approval in areas where councils decide local people are unable to afford housing.

Personal chefs

Nevertheless, Chesky hinted that the company needs to do “multiple new things” to broaden its consumer base and grow its wider appeal and, of course, make more money for its investors.

Dave Stephenson, Chief Business Officer at Airbnb, told Bloomberg that the company was considering diversifying into services such as personal chefs, massages, mid-stay cleaning, easier check-ins, spa services and refrigerator stocking.

Image credit: Skift.


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