The research by ING bank reveals 5,000 properties in Brussels, Antwerp, and Ghent, representing 0.8% of the housing market in some of the most expensive cities for rent in the country, are being let out through accommodation giant, Airbnb, alone. What’s more, “this share is likely even higher if we include other platforms such as Booking.com and Expedia,” said Alissa Lefebre, economist at ING.

In 2024, around 1.23 million stays were booked via these platforms in Belgium, accounting for 12.3 million overnight stays, ING’s analysis found. In 2025, the 10-million overnight stay threshold had already been surpassed in the first three quarters of the year.

While the Flemish government in the north of Belgium has announced the introduction of stricter controls over short-term rentals, Lefebre argues such measures in isolation are not enough to improve the situation. Addressing the size and type of property available in the cities’ housing stock is also key, she said explaining that new building permits tend to focus disproportionately on single family dwellings. These have seen a year-on-year 17% uptick in planning grants, while permissions to build apartments are down 8% — a situation that does not align with demand. “The housing supply must respond better to changing demand,” Lefebre said, “among other things by encouraging and facilitating housing projects within smaller units.”

Other factors affecting people’s ability and confidence to find homes include how stable the investment climate is, the bank said. It is also important to make sure any new legislation on housing quality and energy performance do not lead to perverse effects on housing supply. ING cited rent caps as an example of a measure that has had a negative effect by reducing rental supply, dampening construction, and lowering market turnover.

Part of today’s problem has been poor compliance with regulatory attempts to deal with the impact of short-term rentals on the housing market. But new European rules in force since May 2026 aim to address this by requiring platforms to share data. A key next step, ING points out, is the “creation of a national registration system, which could bring an estimated 1,800 out of 4,650 homes back to the regular housing market.”

However, authorities must find ways to alleviate other “structural bottlenecks,” such as low construction activity, high costs, supply chain issues, and bankruptcies within the sector, ING argues.

The bank’s findings come against a backdrop of wider concerns about tourism’s impact on residents and its economic contribution to Belgian life. Brussels has repeatedly clashed with Airbnb over failures to provide fire safety certificates, criminal record checks, and breaches of urban planning stipulations over building use, as well as targeting property owners over unpaid taxes.

Ghent updated its “noise action plan” in early 2026, putting noise limits of 60 decibels on sensitive areas such as restaurant terraces, and 70 decibels for temporary peaks, with exceptions for major events. Going forward, the city’s canal tours will be required to switch to electric propulsion and to use headphones instead of loudspeakers.

And in summer 2025 the coastal destination of Ostend put forward plans for liveability bylaws to  limit Airbnbs in some neighbourhoods and ban key boxes (which allow guests to collect keys without the owner needing to be present) in order to improve hosts’ accountability.

L’article Thousands of Belgian homes unavailable to residential market due to Airbnb est apparu en premier sur Travel Tomorrow.

Broadly speaking, there are two types of travellers. On the one hand, there are those who first decide on a city or area when booking their next vacation. On the other hand, there are those who fall in love with a certain hotel or holiday rental and plan their trip accordingly. A recent survey by Airbnb found that over half of respondents said a unique or interesting listing would inspire them to visit a destination they hadn’t previously considered. Moreover, 86% of surveyed travellers indicated to be interested in visiting remote or rural destinations.

Those trends are certainly reflected in Airbnb’s list of most-wish-listed accommodations for 2026. The full overview of all the top holiday rentals per state can be found through Airbnb, but we have already made a selection of our favourites in order to inspire you for your next stay.

Frank Lloyd Wright’s Eppstein House (Galesburg, Michigan)

Architecture lovers need to look no further than Frank Lloyd Wright’s Eppstein House in Galesburg, Michigan. The thorough restoration was finished in 2017 and equipped the building with all modern comforts, while respecting its integrity as an architectural gem.

“Built in 1949 as part of Wright’s Usonian community in The Acres, the Eppstein House reflects many hallmarks of the style: a strong horizontal emphasis, flat rooflines, cantilevered overhangs, and a seamless flow between interior and exterior spaces. The home is furnished with original Wright-designed pieces and curated period-appropriate furnishings that preserve the aesthetic unity and organic material palette that define Usonian architecture,” the listing reads.

Maximum capacity: 6

Romantic Montana A-Frame (Jefferson City, Montana)

Set between the Yellowstone and Glacier National Parks, this A-Frame cottage is a great option for those who are fond of the wilderness but don’t like camping all that much. It is still possible to enjoy a campfire, to gaze at the stars, and to spend some precious time with family or friends, yet the hot tub, cozy, comfortable interiors, and the prime location are hard to find elsewhere.

Maximum capacity: 6

Mid-Century Glass Octagon in the Berkshires (Otis, Massachusetts)

When in need of a relaxing holiday amidst the woodlands, this octagonal mid-century house is a safe and luxurious bet. The fireplace and the nearby skiing areas are perfect during the coldest months of the year, while the spacious patio with its grill, fire pit, and sun chairs livens up a Summer stay.

Maximum capacity: 4

Key West Outpost: eco-vacation (Key West, Florida)

Annoying neighbours can be a real issue, both at home and when on holiday. Thankfully, there is no need to take that factor into account when booking the Key West Outpost. The off-grid conch cottage sits on the backcountry waters surrounding Key West and is the ideal place to calm down and observe. Guests can paddleboard, kayak, and even do some light tackle fishing right off the boat, while enjoying basic camping amenities.

“The Outpost is the ultimate glamping experience. You’ll have all the amenities of home, with the understanding that you are still on a boat,” the listing explains.

Maximum capacity: 4

Sunset Silo (Wildersville, Tennessee)

Set next to Tennessee’s largest state park, Natchez Trace State Park, Sunset Silo offers everything one could ask from a small but mighty adventurer’s headquarters. The outdoor hot tub, the magnificent sunsets, the minimalistic interior… It’s hard to imagine a setting better suited to enjoy a romantic couple’s weekend.

Maximum capacity: 2

Robert Bruno Steel House (Ransom Canyon, Texas)

If living an out-of-this-world experience is at the top of your bucket list, the Robert Bruno Steel House might be a dream come true. The sculptured metal construction seems to defy all architectural rules, while the oddly-shaped windows offer breathtaking views over the surrounding area and Lake Ransom Canyon. A stay you won’t soon forget.

“The Bruno house is not simply a place to stay on your travels; it is a destination all on its own. You will want to stay inside all day to see how sunlight, reflected through stained glass and curved windows, changes the interior landscape from moment to moment. This house is truly a marvel. I’m so glad it’s open to the public for everyone to experience,” a previous guest writes.

Maximum capacity: 8

Dome Sweet Dome (El Prado, New Mexico)

Staying in a monolithic dome might not be everyone’s cup of tea, but the building is certainly well-adapted to its surroundings, offering a well-insulated home base during hot summer days in the desert. The on-site yoga necessities, the steam room, and the hot tub looking out over the landscape offer a welcome distraction from the outside world.

Maximum capacity: 2

L’article Airbnb unveiled 7 most wish-listed stays in the U.S. for 2026 est apparu en premier sur Travel Tomorrow.

Local councillors have approved measures to cap the proportion of short-term vacation houses and apartments to two percent or less of the city’s housing stock, as part of what Mayor María José Catalá, called “a much more ambitious strategy, framed within the city’s broader vision of changing the paradigm,” she said.

As tourism has boomed to record levels in recent years, Spain has experienced an accompanying rise in anti-tourism sentiment. This has manifested itself in protests, vandalism, graffiti, and civil disobedience, as residents across the mainland, Balearic and Canary Islands have complained that they are being priced out of residential property rentals and ownership, as well as being unable to afford to go on holiday in their own resorts. The situation has led to some of the harshest rules about tourist rental platforms anywhere in the world, with Airbnb forced to remove tens of thousands of non-compliant listings and subject to huge fines.

Hoy en el #PleValencia aprobamos la regulación de plazas turísticas más restrictiva de España.

Ponemos freno a 8 años de descontrol de una izquierda que expulsó a vecinos y permitió apartamentos turísticos en bajos comerciales.

Marcamos un antes y un después protegiendo el… pic.twitter.com/HdMKKCxiWB

— María José Catalá (@mjosecatala) March 31, 2026

Responding to the same public concerns, in a city described by Time Out as a “magnet for city breakers,” Catalá said: “We are not just a sun and beach city seeking mass low-cost tourism, we are a city that encompasses an urban tourist destination, and we are bringing order to the chaos of recent years.”

The new regulations will apply to rental homes and hotels, confining the number of occupants to no more than eight percent of registered residents per neighbourhood and district. To further improve the balance of home types available to locals, holiday accommodation will be allowed to occupy only 15% or less of ground-floor properties in residential districts.

Since many of the city’s most popular districts are already at or above those quotas, licensing for new premises will be hard to obtain. Local stakeholders have questioned why the rules will apply to hotels, blaming the housing affordability problem on unregistered rentals in residential homes, rather than legitimate businesses.

Francisco Guardeño, of the Federation of Neighbourhood Associations of Valencia, told Euronews “more than 9,000 tourist apartments” are being rented out illegally in the city, adding up to “almost twice the number of hotel accommodations”. Those rentals will not be affected by the change in law, since they already operate “in the shadows,” Guardeño said, pointing to a “problem that the proposal before us does not solve.”

L’article Valencia to restrict tourist accommodation in bid to rebalance city est apparu en premier sur Travel Tomorrow.

While Center Parcs already boasts seven villages across the UK and Ireland, the new park, situated near the town of Hawick, about an hour and 15 minutes by car from Edinburgh, or around just under two hours from Newcastle Upon Tyne, will be the first in Scotland.

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Hawick, once a booming textiles town, is one of the country’s furthest localities from the sea. It is hoped the holiday village will attract up to 350,000 visitors to the area every year and inject £75 million annually (€86 million) into the local economy.

The park also marks the first time the popular European nature-focused resort operator is planting a whole new forest in which to base one of its villages. The woodland development will comprise 700 purpose-built rental lodges and leisure facilities, including a manmade loch, “Subtropical Swimming Paradise,” an “Aqua Sana Forest Spa,” retail outlets and dining.

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The Scottish government is contributing €30 million (around €40 million) to the venture. Taking part in a ceremonial tree-planting alongside Center Parcs’ chief executive Colin McKinlay, Scotland’s First Minister John Swinney hailed the development as “a significant boost—a transformational boost—in terms of visitor attraction in the south of Scotland” and noted the “jobs, tourism, supply chain opportunities, and significant economic benefits” the project would provide. At least 30% of the employment generated is anticipated to benefit 16-to-24-year-olds.

Despite concerns during the approval process over flood risks, light pollution, increased traffic, threats to wildlife habitats and biodiversity, and limits on right-to-roam access to the park site, the plans were greenlit by local councillors in December 2025.

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Still, “right to roam” aspects of the development have proved particularly controversial. Right to roam is a statutory tenet established by the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003, giving responsible access to most national land and inland water for walking, cycling, and other non-motorized activities. It applies to the country’s coastline, forests, hills, and paths, based on caveats in the Scottish Outdoor Access Code. Considering the Scottish borders’ brutal history of forced land enclosures or “Lowland Clearances,” in which thousands of cottage farmers were displaced, the idea of curtailing public land rights here is sensitive.

But the right to roam conflicts with Center Parcs’ unique selling point: an enclosed area with one point of access, helping to create what is claimed to be a quiet, safe, car-free vacation environment in nature. Importantly for the firm’s business model, making accommodation, activities, restaurants, and pools centrally accessible in a self-contained space essentially ringfences the consumer spend by reducing the need for holidaymakers to leave the site for external purposes.

If visitors please, those purposes could include taking part in the annual Reivers’ Festival in late March, where the area’s history of border raids is brought to life through historical reenactments, music, dance, and storytelling, which bring to life the gritty and vibrant history of the Border Reivers. Alternatively, the Common Riding in June brings marches and horse ride parades, while a two-week Summer Festival in August offers themed nights, trails, and kid-friendly activities. That’s not to mention the region’s rich history of mills and textile production, nor its love of rugby. But with the new Center Parcs resort not set to open until 2029, its impact on off‑site visitor numbers and spending remains to be seen.

L’article Center Parcs breaks ground on first Scottish site despite right-to-roam controversy est apparu en premier sur Travel Tomorrow.

The investigation compared three datasets. The official list of Brussels rentals, obtained through a freedom of information request, of 546 accommodations approved by Brussels Economy and Employment (BEW), and a list compiled by the Inside Airbnb watchdog, from which Bruzz took only active, “entire homes”, including aparthotels, furnished holiday homes, studios, flats, and “urban guesthouses.”

Of 3,637 active listings, 2,788 are entire homes, and only 267 are on the list of recognised accommodations, meaning less than 10% comply with local laws.

Commentators note that the rules are not easy to follow, requiring would-be landlords to go through at least eight different bureaucratic processes, including providing proof of identity, a clean background check, a liability insurance certificate, fire safety documentation, and the correct urban planning permission, as well as a property tax notice, and registration with the regional tax office within 31 days to ensure payment of a regional nightly tax of up to five euros.

The Brussels regulations are considered so complex that they have come under fire from the European Court of Justice, which criticised their lack of transparency, clarity, and objectivity. Boris Dilliès, President of the Brussels Capital region, has vowed to reform the system, but his intention is to make it harder, not easier, for people to earn a bit of money on the side through Airbnb. “The rules for renting out entire homes will become stricter, because this competes with the housing supply and the hotel sector. More flexible rules will apply to the renting out of a room by a private individual,” he said.

Critics of the current system point out that a simple solution would be for Brussels Economy and Employment to make it mandatory for Airbnb to request official registration numbers from anyone making a rental available on the platform. This way of operating is already in place in cities like Barcelona and Berlin.

Meanwhile, the authorities have caught up with some owners who have ignored or fallen foul of the rules, often relying on citizen denunciations, municipal work, and tourists themselves to detect offenders. In 2025, 38 rentals were ordered to cease their activities, and over 2,000 property owners were targeted for unpaid taxes. Anyone refusing to comply with shutdown orders risks a penalty of €1,000 at least per unit, on top of a full year’s income tax that assumes full occupation of the property in question.

Still, the Belgian capital seems to be lagging behind other jurisdictions, such as Spain, where tens of thousands of properties have been wiped from rental sites, following massive fines for the platforms.

L’article Over 90% of Brussels Airbnb homes found to be illegal rentals est apparu en premier sur Travel Tomorrow.

The High Court of Justice of Madrid rejected Airbnb’s request for interim measures that would have allowed it to delay payment of the penalty until a final ruling is issued. As a result, the company must pay the fine immediately, even as the case remains ongoing. 

The fine was imposed in December 2025 by Spain’s Ministry of Consumer Affairs over multiple violations linked to tourist accommodation listings on the platform. Authorities found that Airbnb had advertised tens of thousands of properties that did not comply with regional regulations, including listings without a valid licence, incorrect or false registration numbers, and incomplete or misleading information about hosts. 

Investigators identified irregularities in more than 65,000 listings, many of which were later removed. The ministry classified these practices as misleading advertising and unfair commercial behaviour, with the total fine calculated at roughly six times the profit generated from the unlawful listings. 

In a statement following the ruling, Airbnb said the decision “is purely procedural and does not address the substance of the case,” adding that it considers the sanction to be incompatible with Spanish and European legal frameworks. The company has confirmed it will continue to appeal the penalty.

The court’s decision does not assess whether the fine itself is justified, focusing instead on whether payment could be postponed. Judges concluded there were no grounds to suspend the sanction, meaning the financial penalty must be settled while legal proceedings continue. Despite the setback, Airbnb maintains that it has complied with applicable regulations and continues to contest the legal basis of the fine. 

The case forms part of a broader effort by Spanish authorities to tighten oversight of the short-term rental market, which has been widely linked to rising housing costs and reduced availability for local residents. Governments across Europe, including in France, Italy and Portugal, have introduced similar measures in response to mounting pressure on housing supply.

Spain has been particularly aggressive in enforcing compliance, with courts previously ordering Airbnb to remove thousands of non-compliant listings in separate rulings over the past year. Officials argue that stricter regulation is necessary to protect consumers and ensure transparency in the rapidly growing tourist accommodation sector.

L’article Spanish Court orders Airbnb to pay €64 million fine and rejects suspension request est apparu en premier sur Travel Tomorrow.

Maggie O’Farrell’s book Hamnet explores through fiction the love and loss that Shakespeare and his wife, Agnes, usually known as Anne Hathaway, experienced. The tale focuses on Agnes’s point of view and has been made into a film by award-winning Chinese-born director Chloé Zhao. She and her team chose Cwmmau Farmhouse, near the border between England and Wales, to portray Agnes’s childhood home, Hewlands (the real version of which is already a well-known visitor attraction situated near Stratford-upon-Avon).

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Cwmmau is surrounded by country lanes, woods, wildflower meadows, and orchards. In the book, Agnes is deeply connected to nature, and the way she gathers herbs, speaks to bees, and harvests honey and apples is an important aspect of the story.

The timber-framed, five-bedroomed farmhouse can welcome up to 10 guests. It boasts traditional Jacobean features such as visible oak beams, stone floors, and a bread oven. Guests might even find themselves sharing the place with roosting bats, the official website warns. Protected by a Grade II historic building listing, the property is owned and cared for by the National Trust, but the filming money has allowed renovations to take place.

That means there are all the comforts that today’s guests might expect, from modern bathrooms and kitchen appliances to a biomass heating system and parking for up to eight cars. It is due to be available for rental from March 2026. Prices start at £1547 for three nights (over €1700 with exchange rates at the time of writing).

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Other places used during Hamnet’s filming include nearby Weobley, which is one of the best-preserved Tudor villages in the UK and bears little trace of the Industrial Revolution. Its church, where Shakespeare and Agnes marry in the production, is likely to become an Instagram mecca.

To avoid potential crowds, booklovers and culture vultures will find a wealth of destinations to visit in the vicinity and can visit other National Trust sites for free. The farmhouse is close to Hay-on-Wye, nicknamed ‘Town of Books’ and home to the internationally renowned literary event, the Hay Festival, which takes place in May. The Weir Gardens, another National Trust property that dates back to Roman times, is half an hour’s drive away, and is beloved for its walled area, spring bulbs, and wild species such as otters.

Plus, the Ancient Scheduled Monument called Cwmmau Motte is not far off. It is an oval mound that is thought to be the site of a Norman castle. Stargazers can take advantage of the Brecon Beacons Dark Sky Reserve, while creatives, hikers, and mountain bikers can follow in the footsteps of poets and painters who have been inspired by the Black Mountains.

L’article Now booklovers can stay in farmhouse where Shakespeare tale comes alive est apparu en premier sur Travel Tomorrow.

On Monday, 15 December 2025, the Spanish government fined US-based holiday accommodation platform Airbnb €64 million. The amount of the fine is explained by the large number of properties concerned, amounting to no less than 65,122 Airbnb listings.

According to the Consumer Affairs Ministry, the listings violated Spanish consumer protection rules in multiple ways – for example, some of the properties did not have licences, while others had licence numbers not matching the official registers. Many are said to have been located in regions with short-term rental restrictions or requiring explicit authorisation.

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The Ministry specified that properties advertised in Spain need to meet local and regional housing rules and that it is up to rental platforms such as Airbnb to make sure the listings are compliant. Once an anomaly is discovered, the listing should be taken down immediately, while Airbnb allegedly takes too long to do so.

“There are thousands of families who are living on the edge due to housing, while a few get rich with business models that expel people from their homes”, Spain’s consumer rights minister Pablo Bustinduy said in a statement, explaining that every non-compliant listing listed for too long reduces the number of properties available to locals.

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Global action

The amount of the penalty represents six times the profits made by Airbnb between the moment the company was warned by authorities about its offending listings and the moment they were taken down. While the Consumer Affairs Ministry said the fine was final, Airbnb still intends to challenge the decision in court, according to the British news outlet BBC.

The fine imposed on Airbnb is Spain’s latest way of tackling overtourism. Protests against holiday lets organised by locals, including water pistol attacks, made international headlines at the start of the year. In July 2025, the government already forced Booking.com to take down some 4,000 non-compliant listings in an attempt to tackle the rising number of short-term rentals, which are limiting the number of accommodations that are available to locals, thus putting a strain on the well-being of the country. More locally, Barcelona has decided to phase out all tourist apartments by 2028.

Across the globe, actions taken against Airbnb are becoming increasingly common. Cities such as New York, Berlin, Paris, and San Francisco have already heavily restricted their policy towards the short-term rental platform.

L’article Spain fines Airbnb €64 million for advertising unlicensed properties est apparu en premier sur Travel Tomorrow.

In a move to preserve the integrity and appearance of public spaces, the prohibition means that private landlords renting apartments or houses to visitors will no longer be able to fix coded key boxes to the exterior of the property to allow guests to let themselves in without risking a financial penalty. Existing boxes will be removed.

Announced by the City Council on 4 December 2025, the amendment to the Urban Police Regulations affects key boxes but also extends to any “private structures that overlook or protrude onto public spaces.” The ban on the installation of “street furniture, road signs, fences, gates, lampposts, or other structures located on public land” will come into force at the beginning of January 2026.

MILAN STR ALERT!

Milan has banned self-check-in key boxes in public areas for Short-Term Rentals.
Effective: January 2026
Fine: €400 per violation.

Hosts must pivot to smart locks or in-person service. The low-cost check-in era is ending in key European cities. pic.twitter.com/ckyqaiPaeu

— Eric Mason (@VRGuy) December 8, 2025

Milan is just the latest among a suite of destinations that have moved to outlaw aspects of short-term renting that are deemed to have a disproportionate effect on local life. Short-term rental platforms such as Airbnb have had contentious relations with Spanish authorities for some years, having been banished altogether from some places. Meanwhile, other Italian cities have also banned key boxes, including the capital, Rome, as well as Bologna, Florence, and Venice. Milan echoed their reasons “of urban decorum, land use, and safety.” 

Signing off on the new measure, Councillor Michele Albiani, Chairman of the Security Committee, said it “is designed to facilitate self-check-in by guests, which occurs without a permit to occupy public land and without compensation, thus resulting in the improper use of public space for the benefit of private individuals. In addition to the urban decorum issue, the uncontrolled proliferation of lockboxes poses security risks and may cause inconvenience to residents.”

As indicated by Albiani, the proliferation of short-term rentals and the sight of key boxes lining urban streets is not the only issue. Some have linked the use of key boxes to illegal practices such as drug dealing.

Homeowners who fail to remove such devices before the ban goes into effect risk incurring the cost not only of removal and of “administrative fines” ranging from €100 to €400. They may also find themselves responsible for reimbursing and compensating potential short-term rental bookings if their guests arrive and find they can no longer enter the property they’ve reserved. The City Council warned that “devices found in violation of this Article may be forcibly removed by the competent authorities, without prior notice. Removal will be at the expense of the responsible parties.”

L’article Milan will start removing illegal key boxes from its streets in January 2026 est apparu en premier sur Travel Tomorrow.

The scientists who authored the paper analysed 4.8 million guest reviews on the platform from five major US cities, namely Atlanta, Chicago, Los Angeles, New Orleans, and New York City. They examined data from 2015 to 2019, identifying two types of safety reviews.

New paper in the journal on the benefits and costs of Airbnb safety reviews co-authored by Aron Culotta, Ginger Zhe Jin, Yidan Sun and Liad Wagman. Details herehttps://t.co/BURWbRzy5x

— Marketing Science (@Mrktng_Science) October 21, 2025

The first type refers to listing safety reviews that mention problems within the property, such as broken locks or other unsafe conditions. The other type focuses on vicinity safety reviews, which address concerns about the neighbourhood, including feelings of insecurity or crime.

The team found that only 0.5 percent of the reviews flagged safety. Nearly half of them were vicinity safety reviews. “These numbers show that even rare safety reviews can shape guest behaviour and underscore the importance of decisions by digital platforms regarding their review systems,” said Liad Wagman, one of the co-authors of the study.

Following a safety review, a listed property’s performance suffered a hit. Occupancy fell by 1.5 to 2.4 percent while the average nightly prices decreased by 1.5 percent. Moreover, guests who experienced first-hand safety issues were 60 percent less likely to reserve through Airbnb.

Me: Can you confirm in writing that Airbnb doesn't consider an opioid pill found in a 4 yo bed a safety issue?

Airbnb: It is a safety issue, but we cannot cancel pic.twitter.com/e5eVn9Fb9D

— wono (@wono_strategy) July 24, 2025

To validate these claims, the researchers compared the Airbnb reviews to official crime statistics across the five cities. The findings showed that the reviews, even though subjective, aligned with actual crime patterns, particularly within low-income and minority neighbourhoods.

The results show that the priorities of the travellers and the priorities of the platforms are not aligned. “Our results suggest that Airbnb faces a dilemma,” said Ginger Zhe Jin, another of the co-authors of the paper. “Removing neighbourhood safety reviews can improve short-term revenues but at the expense of guest welfare. Highlighting safety reviews benefits guests but lowers revenues, creating a tension between consumer protection and platform profits.”

Even though I read all great reviews, the @airbnb we stayed in was robbed. I wrote this after we left. The house is still available for rent even though @Airbnb knows it has been robbed at least 3 times! They don’t care about your safety. The thief went through my kid clothes! pic.twitter.com/BTtRn1jSso

— Rosie (@RosieBL) October 18, 2023

The study concludes that transparency about neighbourhood safety could ease traveller concerns. Rather than hiding existing safety reviews, Airbnb should provide context about the area, which may include crime statistics or details on local safety measures. Additionally, according to the researchers, Airbnb could also implement safety measures on its platform. This could include marking potentially unsafe areas with visible warnings or providing additional tools that help guests assess local risks.

Such measures could help boost the platform’s trustworthiness without causing a major drop in bookings.

L’article Airbnb safety review can push away travellers, study finds est apparu en premier sur Travel Tomorrow.