Airbnb knows how to make waves in the accommodations booking industry. Over the last few years, the San Francisco-based company has taken major market space away from more conventional hotel booking sites like Hotels.com and Expedia.com, and it looks like the company has once again invented a new technique that will add to its already considerable momentum.
The new “Instant Book” feature allows users to secure their vacation home, apartment or condo with just one click. So what does the combination of Airbnb and instant booking mean for the travel industry? Most significantly, even more travelers are making the shift to Airbnb.
Instant Book
Airbnb’s ‘Instant Book Trend’ could lead to travel market domination. The company has seen significant growth over the past few years, scaling from 800,000 total units in 2014 to over 4.1 million active listings today. Though Airbnb’s top line growth remains healthy at 24.3% (3.3 million listings in 2016 to 4.1 million listings today) we’re seeing a reduction in growth as they reach market saturation.
The company has shifted to a focus on instantly bookable inventory and this shift could position Airbnb at the top of the market. There are several reasons for this, and we are going to take a look at what this trend means for the overall travel industry. So, will Airbnb dominate the market in the near future?
Our Take
Though the pace at which units are being added to Airbnb has slowed, the growth in instantly bookable units has increased this year by more than 76.1%, from 923,990 units in January of 2017 to over 1.6 million units active instantly bookable listings today.
Instant Book is a user-friendly process because travelers can skip the chit-chat with the property host and have a room, or a property, instantly ready for their trip. This will encourage more people to use Airbnb to quickly secure a place to stay.
