Will Airbnb Survive Or Fold Following 2020?

2020 will be remembered for Coronavirus, COVID-19 and the lock down but will it be remembered as the final year of Airbnb?

There’s no denying that short term rentals enjoyed a long run of profitability thanks to the Bull Market which lasted for 10 years and Airbnb was able to ride that wave of growth but will the company survive 2020?

What Does The Future Hold For Airbnb?

Before 2020, Airbnb was the “darling” among short term rental companies but following Coronavirus, things couldn’t be more different and it’s possible that the future may not be as profitable for Airbnb,

Why does the future look bleak for Airbnb?

Fear of Traveling

The long-term psychological impact that COVID-19 will have on the traveler is unclear at this point. People who have traveled for work are adjusting to a virtual setting. Even in real estate, most networking conferences have been moved to a virtual setting rather than canceling outright.

From a non-work sense, families, which made up a decent percentage of Airbnb travelers because of Airbnb’s ability to accommodate larger groups, are not currently traveling. You can’t exactly do a family reunion at this time.

In addition, most tourist destinations are still closed or heavily restricted.

Government Regulations

Then a new development occurred when New York City became the epicenter of the virus. Within a short time period, other state governors began to ban visitors from the state of New York, going so far as arresting visitors. Other governors imposed mandatory quarantines of two weeks after arrival.

Some locations, even prior to COVID-19, already had short-term rentals restrictions. These restrictions are only set to get worse as local governments attempt to stop the spread of the virus.

Commercial Cleaning

The COVID-19 pandemic has spawned a new cleaning industry. The old status quo of having a cleaning person come after your guests leave won’t work for the foreseeable future. My prediction is the larger hotel operators with scale on their side will be able to offer some kind of COVID-19 clean certification, whereas the smaller operators won’t be able to. I already received such an offer in the mail by a third-party cleaning service for my office building.

When people do start traveling again, I believe seeing some kind of cleaning certification will play a role in deciding where to stay, leaving the small mom-and-pop operator at a disadvantage. If you are able to get some kind of certification, make sure you’re marketing that fact!

Source – Bigger Pockets

One thing is for certain, even though 2020 has been tough for short term rentals, long properties continue to enjoy steady growth.

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