What are Summer 2021 trends? After sharing with you the trends of the year 2021 in a previous article, in this month of May, we offer you, The key points of the Airbnb report for summer 2021. Indeed, the rental platform has conducted new studies to better understand the changes in the behavior and expectations of their customers: travelers.
What should we learn from this multi-country study? What are the specificities of France? The title of the report speaks for itself: “travel and accommodation merge” (free translation). Indeed, travel is no longer experienced in the same way. And by rebound, the way to consider short-term rentals. Airbnb learned from this and built 103 new features or changes that you can read about here..
In the end, with the pandemic, behaviors have changed. It is a fact. Rather, the question to ask yourself is: Are these new behaviors ephemeral or rooted in time? According to Airbnb, the answer is clear: the world has changed. And travel remains an essential need: it would even be the first thing people will do when they feel safe again. And when possible. OIQIA deciphers the Airbnb report for summer 2021 for you. You can read the original and comprehensive version here.
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The Airbnb report is based on a multi-country study, administered to a sample of hosts and travelers on the rental platform. The countries interviewed are Australia, France, Mexico, Mexico, Mexico, the UK and the US (based on 3 locations: California, Florida and New York).
The pandemic has shaken up temporal and geographic frameworks. Indeed, travelers are no longer guided by the school calendar in their travel choices. With teleworking, there is no longer any need to stay close to the employer.
Admittedly, international travel restrictions have encouraged domestic travel, but working remotely, at school or at work, has made it possible to leave anywhere, anytime. For example, travelers said they wanted to leave at any time if they were given more flexibility in their daily lives. Airbnb has understood this and has integrated into its new functionalities the search by flexible date and no longer only by fixed date.
Finally, 77% of respondents want to be able to cancel or are looking for flexible cancellation conditions. 2/3 of hosts on Airbnb already have it in place, depending on the platform. Moreover, more and more travelers are booking at the last minute: leaving at any time is their new credo. And the flexibility to change your mind, a key word.
The Airbnb study shows a shift from mass tourism to a search for more intimate, more isolated places. Compared to summer 2019, the mountain grew in 2021. Indeed, during this period, coastal areas are favoured, followed by rural areas and mountains. Especially in rural areas, they account for 22% of bookings compared to 10% in 2015!
If traditionally, travelers are loyal to their vacation spots, today that is no longer what matters. The traveller especially favors the people with whom he will travel and the connections he will establish with his emotional circle. It seems that what matters now is no longer where you go but who you go with.
Domestic travel remains preferred due to international restrictions and isolation requirements upon arrival. 80% of bookings on Airbnb are made within the country.
Finally, the Airbnb summer model has always been the single traveler or in pairs, going to a big city. But in the summer of 2021, the new model is the family leaving a big city to go to a smaller destination. The example given by Airbnb, in France, is the shift in the attractiveness of Paris for the Var.
Travelers are extending their stays: the average booking increased from 3.5 nights in 2019 to 4 nights in April 2021. However, on this point, France is a bit behind. While 39% of bookings in Germany are for long stays (over 28 nights), this still represents only 14% for France. One of the lowest rates with Australia, at 11%.
Stays in big cities will mostly be long stays. In France, Paris remains the leader in this field. Unlike the UK, where the concentration of long stays is between 3 cities: London, Manchester and Edinburgh.
Long stays are especially favored by the senior population (60-90 years old), where 28% of bookings are long stays (in cumulative annual terms ranging from April 2020 to April 2021). The second segment of travelers, which favors these long stays, is made up of young people aged 18 to 24, representing 25% of bookings.
In addition, 55% of travelers who had long stays in 2021 indicate that they worked or studied during it. The main reason for long stays is still family reunification (reason for choosing the destination).
Finally, Airbnb indicates that 87% of the accommodations on its platform offer long stays. They are therefore in line with this new demand from travelers.
Before the pandemic, the model was based on business travel. Today, families are the lifeblood when it comes to travel. Indeed, the share represented by family travel within a country is the highest in France (40% of trips). For comparison, it is the lowest in Brazil (22%).
In essence, it was the families who initiated the changes mentioned above: the need to recreate a home at the destination, the trip anytime, anywhere, and the stays that are getting longer. Likewise, families also favor rural areas: 42% of families favored them. Finally, an ambivalent point (but not raised by Airbnb) can be raised here. Because contrary to the need for health security and distance mentioned by travelers, in summer 2021, travelers preferred seaside resorts and theme parks (such as Disneyland). These will replace the traditional choice of big cities.
Likewise, 12% of travelers will travel for family reasons (need for reconciliation/support) and 50% of them said they want to do so in the future.
Finally, for summer 2021, Airbnb announces that the share of accommodations on its platform, offering 4 beds and more, represents 54% of nights sold versus 35% for the same period in 2019. While France, with its 53%, is average, the US dominates this family housing market with 64% of homes offering this type of service.
The summer 2021 trends confirm the conclusions developed for the year 2021 by Airbnb and industry experts. Mass tourism no longer seems to be the norm in people's minds, replaced by the discovery of more unusual, isolated places where travelers feel safe. A new behavior driven by family trips, hedonistic trips, and remote working/school work at a distance. Affect (tightening around the emotional circle) and the need to recreate a home at destination also change travelers' expectations. At OIQIA, we believe that the need to communicate outside the emotional circle is no longer relevant. Travelers prefer, as demonstrated by the very popular filter of“the autonomous arrival of the traveller”, a contactless and fast arrival. The important thing is no longer the face-to-face welcome but the accommodation as such: its originality, its safe location, as well as the ability of the traveller to project himself into this accommodation to make it a temporary home. A challenge for hosts and concierges to support travelers in meeting their expectations.
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