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Airbnb has gotten a bad reputation lately. In 2021, Barcelona became the first European city to effectively ban Airbnb. A cascade of cities and even provinces followed.
Earlier this month, New York followed suit by banning booking platforms like Airbnb from offering unregistered short-term rentals in the city.
And to make matters worse, now a new report of… Which? has discovered that Airbnbs are no cheaper than hotels in most destinations anyway.
The study found that a one-bedroom short-term rental through a platform like Airbnb is more expensive than a hotel room in 38 of the 50 destinations surveyed.
This may come as a surprise to many because when they first launched, private rental sites like Airbnb and Vrbo offered a cheaper alternative to booking a hotel in many high-demand cities.
These are the destinations where the differences were the greatest:
Big savings in capitals
In every capital city included in the study, hotels were cheaper than Airbnb.
The following 7 capitals are a clear example of this:
The average price of a one-bedroom Airbnb in Amsterdam is $224. The average price of a hotel room is $143.
The average price of a one-bedroom Airbnb in Singapore is $174. The average price of a hotel room is $100.
The average price of a one-bedroom Airbnb in Greater London is $200. The average price of a hotel room is $126.
The average price of a one-bedroom Airbnb in Dubai is $157. The average price of a hotel room is $87.
The average price of a one-bedroom Airbnb in Barcelona is $172. The average price of a hotel room is $116.
The average price of a one-bedroom Airbnb in Hong Kong is $121. The average price of a hotel room is $65.
The average price of a one-bedroom Airbnb in San Francisco is $201. The average price of a hotel room is $157.
New York, New York
Because New York’s effective ban on Airbnb has received so much media attention in recent months, the study also looked at the cost of hotels versus Airbnb in New York City.
It turned out that not only were Airbnbs in the city more expensive than comparable hotel rooms, but also that many New York options still listed on the site are actually illegal.
In New York you are no longer allowed to rent out an entire home for less than 30 days. This means that the only legal Airbnb options in the city are those where the owner lives in the property and where the property is officially registered for short-term rentals.
This change is expected to further drive up nightly rates in the city.
The trend of banning Airbnb and other short-term rental sites will only continue. From October 1, Scotland will also introduce a restrictive licensing system for short-term rentals, for example.
Are hotel rooms really better?
When asked to respond to the survey, Airbnb said: “This data is inaccurate and based on flawed methodology,” because private rentals generally have more space than hotel rooms.
And it’s worth noting that when you book an Airbnb, you usually have more space than a hotel room. But this is not always the case.
You will also often have a kitchen or cooking facility, which can save you money in the long run when you compare the costs of eating out with the costs of cooking yourself.
It’s ideal if you enjoy cooking for yourself on holiday, but not important if you think eating out is part of the fun of the trip.
finally, the Which? The research concludes that a larger Airbnb can still be a better value for a group, as the cost of a larger rental is often cheaper than the combined cost of multiple hotel rooms. Many families also prefer the space and flexibility that Airbnb offers.
But in terms of cost alone, a hotel room will in most cases be cheaper than an Airbnb rental.
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This article originally appeared on TravelOffPath.com
