Are Short-Term Rentals More Popular than Hotels?

Even with Airbnb posting a net loss of $500 million in its fourth quarter of 2023, the past year was a success story for the short-term rental platform, which increased its annual revenue to roughly $10 billion and net income to $4.8 billion. Nevertheless, the hotel business is still far more important regarding the revenue generated in the travel and tourism sector.

As our chart based on Statista Mobility Market Insights data shows, hotel accommodation has a larger revenue share in every one of the eight economies projected to generate the most revenue with cruises, package holidays, camping, hotels and vacation rentals. Italy had the highest share of vacation rentals, which encompasses vacation homes and short-term rentals, in total market revenue with almost 16 percent. The relationship between Airbnb and the Southern European nation, in particular, is fraught. In November, Italian authorities seized 780 million euros from the online platform due to the suspicion of tax evasion. The case was settled in December with Airbnb agreeing to pay 576 million euros without admitting direct liability.

The tourism and travel industry in the United States, the United Kingdom and Japan will continue to rely heavily on hotel bookings in 2024 according to Statista analysts, with between 54 and 62 percent of the corresponding total market revenue being provided by this segment. Germany has one of the lowest combined revenue share of hotels and vacation rentals, which can be attributed to the country's inhabitants' fondness for package holidays.

Overall, analysts forecast that revenue in all market segments will amount to $927 billion worldwide in the upcoming year. The United States, China and Germany alone are projected to contribute almost half of this revenue.