What is Airbnb?
Airbnb is an online marketplace that connects people with rentable spaces and people looking to rent a space. Spaces can include anything from a spare bed to an entire mini-castle. How it works is, Airbnb takes 3% commission of every booking from hosts, and between 6% and 12% from guests.
When searching for accommodation, there are plenty of options and criteria available: From a shared room to an entire house, to having a swimming pool or washing machine. Included on the site/app are photos of the property, and the hosts/guests with full map listing.
How popular is Airbnb in South Africa?
Airbnb released a report recently about its popularity in South Africa. The platform collected data between 1 September 2016 and 1 September 2017. According to the report, South Africa already has more than 43 400 active listings, and a typical host earns R25 500 annually or 19 nights on average.
Hosts on Airbnb South Africa earn additional income by occasionally sharing their homes or properties with visitors from around the world. From the data gathered in the report, 651 000 international guests visited the country in the 2016-2017 time period, representing a 143% growth.
Why Airbnb works?
It works because it’s “making use of the so-called ‘sharing economy’, which encourages meaningful interaction and trust, embraces openness and inclusivity, and connects distribution networks of people and/or assets, as pioneered by eBay. Airbnb views the hosts not as simply customers, but ‘business partners’,” says James McClure, Airbnb’s General Manager, United Kingdom and Ireland.
The sharing economy is founded on the principles of sustainability and doing more with fewer resources. This is specifically to support the environment but is also a reaction to recent economic downturns, which taught customers a few lessons about savings. According to Forbes, this economic model isn’t a passing trend and continues to show signs that it will stay with us for the long-term.