Airbnb: Swiss offer doubled
The number of listings on the online platform Airbnb in Switzerland is growing rapidly. A recent study by the Valais Tourism Observatory shows that the number of listings has doubled in one year, according to the latest issue of the Handelszeitung.
The trend is confirmed by the company: "Compared to November 2014, there has been a growth of 98 percent in Switzerland; there are currently just over 15,000 Airbnb properties in Switzerland," says Airbnb spokesperson Julian Trautwein. According to the Valais study, Geneva, Zurich and Basel have the highest number of Swiss Airbnb properties.
In addition to the growth dynamics, the Valais Tourism Observatory also examined the commercial relevance of Airbnb providers for the first time. "In addition to the doubling of the number of properties, the high proportion of professional landlords, which we identified for the first time this year, is particularly exciting," says study author Roland Schegg. For this purpose, providers who broker two or more properties were recorded. Schegg classifies 19 percent of the offer, i.e. around 2,500 properties, in the category of commercial offers. Airbnb itself does not want to comment on this specifically.
The Valais Tourism Observatory estimates that "at least one million overnight stays" were generated in Switzerland this year via Airbnb. "If you take the average Swiss price of 80 francs per night and bed, you get around 80 million francs," says Schegg.
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