New short-stay rules in New York: three months on

05.12.2023 - 08:05 / breakingtravelnews.com / In Asia

In September New York City introduced stringent restrictions on short-term rentals leading to news very quickly that Airbnb bookings in the city had “dried up”.  And this is by no means new, cities like Barcelona and Berlin already have strict restrictions on short-term rental properties, requiring hosts to obtain a licence to operate.

Nearly three months on the industry has had time to analyse the impact and reflect on what this means for the wider travel and tourism space, including those selling accommodation. We spoke with a range of experts from leading travel technology companies to find out more.

Although hotels will no doubt welcome the move, it shouldn’t be taken lightly.  Alex Barros, Chief Marketing & Innovation Officer at hotel revenue management expert BEONx, says: “Short-term rentals have been a significant threat to hotels for quite some time in New York, London and Paris, AirBnb has take 10-13% of the room nights in such destinations. In my opinion short term rentals have opened new markets with segments that would not necessarily go to the destination previously, and the brand advocacy Airbnb has achieved is the hardest thing to beat for hotels.  So the industry is likely to welcome this news.  However, hotels shouldn’t just sit back and expect an influx of bookings.  They do need to consider what short-term rentals have been able to offer travellers that they have not and how AirBnb has acquired this segment of travellers that do not like to stay at hotels and prefer alternative accommodation.  Travellers appreciate the independence and privacy of staying in a short-term rental, along with the local insights and suggestions for things to do that hosts often give, an experience hotels will struggle to provide, so if hotels can now fill this new gap in the market, they will likely win business from consumers.  Travellers will now likely find a shortage of facilities like self-catering, outdoor space and family-friendly spaces in destinations like New York City; filling these voids could lead to greater profitability for hotels, but today as we speak despite the stringent regulations you can still find over STR 1300 properties available in NYC.”

But B2B travel service provider DidaTravel thinks that for the Asian traveller segment the threat of short-term rentals is not quite so significant for hotel operators: “In Asia, travellers prefer to book travel via trusted sources; they like a high degree of certainty over what they’re going to get and the quality of service they’re going to receive,” says CMO Gareth Matthews.  “This is particularly driven by China, which is once again fast-growing in terms of outbound travel numbers.  These travellers’ needs are not guaranteed to be met