Airbnb Growth Story Has a Plot Twist — A Saturation Point
Photo Credit: An Airbnb listing in Sweden. A new report from Morgan Stanley suggests slowing adoption/usage of Airbnb in the U.S. and Europe. Airbnb
Skift Take
As Airbnb tries to become the only brand in travel that you'll ever need, it's not just the hotel industry that the company has to contend with, but online travel agencies, too. We can just imagine the hotels telling Airbnb, "Welcome to the club."
Has Airbnb reached peak Airbnb in the U.S. and Europe? A new report from Morgan Stanley seems to suggest as much.
In the company's third annual AlphaWise survey of more than 4,000 adult consumers in the U.S., UK, France, and Germany, it found that Airbnb adoption in the U.S. and Europe is slowing, providing an opportunity for online travel agency competitors such as Priceline (Booking.com) and Expedia to grab some share.
The percentage of travelers who used Airbnb during the 12 months up to October 2017 increased to 25 percent, up 330 basis points. By contrast, in last year's survey, that increase was up 800 basis points.
Awareness of Airbnb is at an all-time high, the report argues. Morgan Stanley's analysts suggested two reasons for the slowing usage rates. One is that Airbnb may simply be too big, or that it's become so mainstream that it's harder for the company to grow as it used to. The survey noted an 80 percent awareness among travelers. In 2016, awareness levels were
