Travel Megatrends 2020: Short-Term Rental Winners Emerge
Photo Credit: Block of houses in Barra da Tijuca, Brazil Unsplash / Breno Assis
Skift Take
The short-term rental ecosystem is getting bigger, which means many winners are set to emerge from the pack. Expect further brand-driven professionalization, more outside investment, and vendor consolidation. Those getting on board will benefit, but is a backlash in the cards?
Skift Megatrends 2020
We recently released our annual travel industry trends forecast, Skift Megatrends 2020. Download a copy of our magazine here and read on for highlights online.
Airbnb has signaled that this will be the year that it will finally go public. Investors and vendors are jostling for position to benefit from the added spotlight this will put on alternative accommodations. Airbnb itself is also acquiring and investing in companies to ensure a positive outcome.
With the added scrutiny, 2020 promises to see clear winners emerging from this fragmented category.
A booming sector
Skift Research estimates that global gross bookings of short-term rental properties grew 7 percent in 2019 to a total of $115 billion. Five companies — Airbnb, Booking Holdings with its Booking.com and Agoda platforms, Expedia Group with its Vrbo/HomeAway, TripAdvisor, and Chinese platform Tujia — registered 73 percent of all bookings, showing how the booking landscape has become highly consolidated.
In many other aspects, however, the short-term rental sector is extremely fragmented. There are millions of independent hosts, over 100,000 property managers, and tho
