Post by High Priestess on May 10, 2016 14:30:17 GMT
www.chicagobusiness.com/realestate/20160510/CRED03/160509808/hotel-industry-report-strikes-back-at-airbnb
A hotel industry trade group is taking another shot at Airbnb, releasing a report contending the popular home-sharing service makes most of its money in Chicago through professional operators who need to be more strictly regulated.
The report from AHLA the American Hotel and Lodging Association is likely to intensify debate over the short term rental market in Chicago and Airbnb, a growing competitive threat to the hotel industry. AHLA argues that people who use Airbnb to rent out their homes are poorly regulated, giving them an unfair advantage over hotels.
“We'll be happy to compete with them, as long as they have a level playing field,” said Marc Gordon, CEO of the Illinois Hotel and Lodging Association, an AHLA affiliate. “But it's not level right now.”
At the center of the debate is the question of who rents out their homes through Airbnb. It's easier to argue for more regulation if the industry is dominated by big professional operators rather than ordinary homeowners just looking to supplement their incomes.
Naturally, the AHLA report shows that the pros generate most of Airbnb's revenue in the Chicago area, while Airbnb says the report is flat-out wrong.
According to the report, Airbnb hosts in the Chicago area who listed their properties for rent more than 180 days a year accounted for 58.3 percent of the company's $49.5 million in revenue here from October 2014 through September 2015. Over the same period, local Airbnb operators listing multiple units for rent generated 38.4 percent of Airbnb's revenue in the area. (The lion's share of the revenue goes to the hosts, not Airbnb, which makes money by charging commissions on rentals.)
The AHLA focuses on those two categories—Airbnb hosts who offer their homes for rent for most of the year and those who have more than one listing—because they likely cover commercial operators, not ordinary homeowners renting out their primary residences.
“They are not the mom-and-pop and the little college student renting out his couch for a few extra bucks,” Gordon said. The report shows that “the major growth area for Airbnb is these commercial landlords—people that own and rent property as a business, which is different from the idea that Airbnb is for people who want to rent out their home for a couple days a year to make ends meet.”
San Francisco-based Airbnb called the study “factually inaccurate” and “disingenuous,” saying it's wrong to focus on Airbnb hosts who list their homes for more than 180 days. The relevant statistic is how many days homes are rented, not listed, according to the company. And only 6 percent of Chicago-area homes rented out through Airbnb are rented for more than 180 days, spokesman Christopher Nulty said in an email.
He also said 82 percent of Airbnb hosts in Chicago are renting out their primary residences. Over the same period covered by the AHLA study, the typical home listed through Airbnb generated $5,800 in earnings and was rented out for 37 nights, he said.
“This factually inaccurate study, which was paid for by the hotel industry, is the latest example of the industry's attempt to mislead and manipulate instead of accepting that an increasing number of consumers and cities are embracing the many great benefits of home sharing,” Nulty wrote.
A hotel industry trade group is taking another shot at Airbnb, releasing a report contending the popular home-sharing service makes most of its money in Chicago through professional operators who need to be more strictly regulated.
The report from AHLA the American Hotel and Lodging Association is likely to intensify debate over the short term rental market in Chicago and Airbnb, a growing competitive threat to the hotel industry. AHLA argues that people who use Airbnb to rent out their homes are poorly regulated, giving them an unfair advantage over hotels.
“We'll be happy to compete with them, as long as they have a level playing field,” said Marc Gordon, CEO of the Illinois Hotel and Lodging Association, an AHLA affiliate. “But it's not level right now.”
At the center of the debate is the question of who rents out their homes through Airbnb. It's easier to argue for more regulation if the industry is dominated by big professional operators rather than ordinary homeowners just looking to supplement their incomes.
Naturally, the AHLA report shows that the pros generate most of Airbnb's revenue in the Chicago area, while Airbnb says the report is flat-out wrong.
According to the report, Airbnb hosts in the Chicago area who listed their properties for rent more than 180 days a year accounted for 58.3 percent of the company's $49.5 million in revenue here from October 2014 through September 2015. Over the same period, local Airbnb operators listing multiple units for rent generated 38.4 percent of Airbnb's revenue in the area. (The lion's share of the revenue goes to the hosts, not Airbnb, which makes money by charging commissions on rentals.)
The AHLA focuses on those two categories—Airbnb hosts who offer their homes for rent for most of the year and those who have more than one listing—because they likely cover commercial operators, not ordinary homeowners renting out their primary residences.
“They are not the mom-and-pop and the little college student renting out his couch for a few extra bucks,” Gordon said. The report shows that “the major growth area for Airbnb is these commercial landlords—people that own and rent property as a business, which is different from the idea that Airbnb is for people who want to rent out their home for a couple days a year to make ends meet.”
San Francisco-based Airbnb called the study “factually inaccurate” and “disingenuous,” saying it's wrong to focus on Airbnb hosts who list their homes for more than 180 days. The relevant statistic is how many days homes are rented, not listed, according to the company. And only 6 percent of Chicago-area homes rented out through Airbnb are rented for more than 180 days, spokesman Christopher Nulty said in an email.
He also said 82 percent of Airbnb hosts in Chicago are renting out their primary residences. Over the same period covered by the AHLA study, the typical home listed through Airbnb generated $5,800 in earnings and was rented out for 37 nights, he said.
“This factually inaccurate study, which was paid for by the hotel industry, is the latest example of the industry's attempt to mislead and manipulate instead of accepting that an increasing number of consumers and cities are embracing the many great benefits of home sharing,” Nulty wrote.