Airbnb accommodations now account for 9% of the total lodging units in the 10 largest U.S. markets and appeared to be adding units at a substantially faster clip than the U.S. hotel industry, a new study has revealed.
The data, in a report released by CBRE Hotels (formerly PKF Hospitality), suggests stiffer-than-expected competition for developers of new hotels in major markets such as New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco.
In New York, Airbnb units accounted for almost 23,000, or about 16%, of the 140,000 total lodging units (hotel and Airbnb inventory combined) as of September, the most recent month tracked in the study.
The CBRE study found that Los Angeles’ 13,000 Airbnb accommodations accounted for 12% of that city’s lodging units, while Airbnb units in San Francisco and Miami comprised 11% and 9.2% of those cities’ lodging units, respectively. For the study, CBRE culled data from both STR and Airdna, which provides data to vacation rental entrepreneurs and investors.
Airbnb’s presence was also reflected in revenue numbers. For the 12 months ended September 2015, revenue generated by Airbnb hosts equaled almost 6% of hotel room revenue in Los Angeles, while in New York, Austin, Oakland and San Francisco, Airbnb revenue equaled about 5% of hotel revenue.
Meanwhile, the average number of active U.S. Airbnb units (defined as places that had been available for rent during the previous month) doubled, to about 173,000, between October 2014 and September 2015. The fact that hotel supply increased just 1.1% last year, about 55,000 rooms, suggests that Airbnb is adding units faster than hoteliers, though the number of Airbnb units that enter or exit the market varies from month to month as hosts respond to seasonal activity or look to capitalize on major local events that will draw more overnight visitors.
Airbnb hosts generated $2.4 billion for the year ending last September, according to the study. That’s about 1.6% of the $150 billion U.S. hotels generated last year, according to research firm Phocuswright, and puts Airbnb’s annualized, and rapidly growing, revenue at about half of Hyatt Hotels’ and more than double Choice Hotels International’s.
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