Real Estate

Airbnb’s Impact on the Rental Landscape

Before Airbnb and Vrbo came about, the rental landscape was drastically different. For one thing, the market was much smaller. For example, in the case of vacation rentals, because there was less information available, it was more difficult to book a vacation rental as compared to a hotel. And because of that, the default option for most folks on vacation would be to stay at a hotel. Today, that’s not the case anymore. In this article, we explore the different ways in which the Airbnb evolution has changed the rental landscape—for both rental property owners and renters. Read on to find out more! 1. Vacation rentals are much more accessible What’s the biggest change Airbnb has brought about? Vacation rentals are now so much more accessible. From the perspective of someone trying to book a rental apartment, there are many things that Airbnb has gotten right. The ease of searching and filtering rental listings. Making it possible to book rentals online. And, perhaps most importantly, the presence of helpful reviews from former guests. Before Airbnb came into the picture, vacation rental sites didn’t have the review functionality. These were basically just classified ads—rental property owners or real estate agents could buy a page and post their listing, but there was no way for guests to leave comments, feedback or reviews. Now that Airbnb (and the ability to leave reviews) is an industry norm, the rental space is so much more accessible to renters. As a renter, you can look at […]