A study recently published by Phocuswright shows clearly that 10% of UK and US travellers have rented an alternative accommodation to that of a hotel or guesthouse, in 2014.
This percentage is actually higher in other countries. Over 17% of Chinese, Brazilians and Russians travellers prefer vacation rentals. Following closely are Australians and Germans with 13% and the French with 11% of all travellers.
Phocuswright says the “shared space” element of the so-called new breed of accommodation hitting the industry is “often overlooked” at the expense of the attention given to properties rented out in their entirety (20% of travellers are renting those). Still, some of the findings in the report are useful context behind the general trend where many travellers are moving from traditional accommodation such as hotels to the new private economy in hospitality.
The study surveyed 8,000 travellers and found that price drives a lot of the decision-making in the booking process, with a correlation between the amount spent on the accommodation and that used for transportation.
The report also suggests that travellers are opting for such alternative accommodation as a way to have a “culturally immersive experience”, where they meet and stay with locals and have a closer encounter with the local community.
