Over the past decade, many people gave up on hotels and started looking elsewhere for places to stay while travelling. Various platforms facilitated this, and chief among them was Airbnb. According to Global Edge, a study conducted by HVS Consulting &amp; Valuation and the Hotel Association illustrated the real and significant effect Airbnb had on the hotel industry in New York City. The study showed that an estimated $450 million in hotel revenue was being lost every year. Many travelers developed a general preference for renting an Airbnb property over a hotel room. There were a few reasons for this. The first reason is the fact you can have more than just one room to yourself. According to World Metrics, “Airbnb offers more than 40 different property types to choose from.” Whether you want to rent an entire cottage for your friend’s bachelorette party, an entire farmhouse in rural France, or a castle in Ireland, Airbnb might have exactly what you are looking for.Hotels on the other hand may be few and far between in less urban areas, and at the most may offer a luxury suite that would still seem a far cry from various properties offered on Airbnb. World Metrics also says that more than half of Airbnb users “prefer non-urban destinations” and that “52% of Airbnb guests state they choose Airbnb for a unique experience.” Another reason people have opted for Airbnbs over hotels is the price point. If you rent in a large group, for example, Nerdwallet says you may be saving money not just compared to smaller group Airbnb rentals, but also compared to hotels. This is not always true however, especially as we’ve seen recently. World Metrics says that “Airbnb users spend an average of 60% more in the neighborhoods they stay in compared to hotel guests.” However, unless you are choosing an Airbnb for its ability to accommodate your large group, you actually don’t save much, if at all, compared to a hotel. CityNews Toronto reports that “the average Airbnb for six was 33% cheaper than booking three hotel rooms, but the average hotel was 29% cheaper than booking an Airbnb for two.”Now that the claim of Airbnbs always being cheaper has been debunked, there are other, perhaps more pressing concerns relating to consumers no longer preferring Airbnbs. The public’s concern for housing availability and affordability, as well as resulting regulations have resulted in the public’s opinion of Airbnb souring.The existence of short-term rentals has made finding long-term accommodations significantly harder. For reference, the City of Vancouver has recently defined a short-term rental as anything to be rented for less than 90 days. Between the years 2017 and 2023, the number of short-term rental units across Canada increased by 60%, according to Global News. They also report that as of 2023, over 107,000 short term rental units could be considered potential long term rental units. So, there were plenty of spaces that could have been made into homes for families across the country. That’s not the only problem. The Financial Post says that neighborhoods with a high number of short-term rental listings also have higher rent and house prices. Not only do regular families need to compete with investors, but the removal of potential rentals from the rental market “puts upward pressure on the rents paid by local residents by constraining the supply.” In Barcelona, for example, areas where Airbnb presence increased also experienced a correlating increase in rent by 7% and 19% in house prices. No wonder locals are throwing tomatoes at tourists.&nbsp;The Financial Post reports that the federal government responded to these concerns by announcing that “expenses related to STR income would no longer be eligible for income tax deductions in areas where STRs are prohibited or properties break the rules on licensing, permitting, or registration requirements.” In New York City, Local Law 18 was introduced to “require short term rental hosts to register with the city and prohibits booking service platforms (such as Airbnb, VRBO, Booking.com, etc.) from processing transactions for unregistered short-term rentals.”&nbsp; In areas where people are struggling to put a roof over their heads, the government is starting to catch onto Airbnb and other short term rental platforms’ use of potential homes.Airbnb property operators also began adding fees and obligations to guests that accelerated the shift of an already tipping scale. Requiring guests to strip beds and take out the garbage made people long for daily housekeeping service and quick key drop check outs. Add to this that many condo corporations and the owner-occupied unit holders in those buildings have turned very negative, often hostile, to the short-term guests and we can understand how the sun is starting to shine on hotels again.&nbsp; &nbsp;If you ask me, hotels weren’t ever so bad in the first place. Offering amenities like a gym, a business center, free breakfasts, restaurants, bars, and services such as security, room service and housekeeping the choice was easy for me. Hotels are usually within walking distance from major tourist and/ or business destinations in urban areas, not to mention that hotels stay in their lane by not hogging up precious potential rental spaces. I’ll collect my points and keep my trip as simple and relaxing as possible thanks.&nbsp;

Air BNB: Making the Move Back to Hotels

Airbnb rentals could face a backlash as travelers return to hotels for affordability, amenities, and convenience, amid housing concerns.

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