hospitalitytoday . com | 23 by over 409,000 in the last five years , which is testament to the health of the industry . However , as we ’ re seeing across the entire economy – the way we ’ re working and employing is changing . Employees expect flexibility and often , employers require it - businesses must respond to that .
“ We believe the ‘ now economy ’ is a system where companies can more efficiently manage staffing costs , and people are free to pursue the roles they want .”
Airbnb now approximately a third of the size of the hotel sector in London – suggests recent research
Airbnb is now roughly a third ( 32 %) of the size of the hotel sector in London , suggests new research showing there are approximately 64,000 Airbnb listed properties in London compared to 197,970 hotel rooms , says Moore Stephens , the Top Ten Accountancy firm .
Concerns have been raised that Airbnb is taking advantage of an uneven playing field to gain market share from the more formal hotel and bed & breakfast sector in London and across the UK .
The hotel industry has complained that property owners renting out their rooms through Airbnb : do not pay business rates ; do not pay VAT ;
often have lower health & safety standards than hotels – or fail to adhere to formal health & safety standards ;
are often in breach of planning regulations that put the legality of their use as holiday accommodation in doubt ;
are unlikely to be advising their insurers about change in use and the additional risks involved ;
create problems including security issues for other residents in residential blocks as many residential properties do not have the kind of sound proofing , etc . expected of hotels .
Many major cities around the world have already clamped down on Airbnb and have introduced stricter regulations . For example , Airbnb hosts must now :
be full-time residents and can only rent their property for 90 days in San Francisco ;
pay an annual fee for a tourist licence in Barcelona ;
obtain a general permit from their borough in Berlin and could face a maximum penalty of up to € 500,000 for breaking any regulation .
* Most recent available data ; hotel room availability from Visit Britain , data on Airbnb listings from sources including AirDNA , Airbnb UK Insights Report , AllTheRooms . com .