Who would have thought a health and economic storm could disrupt our lifestyle and bring uncertainty and fear into our lives to the extent it has the world over, all in the blink of an eye.
Unfortunately, the travel industry has been one of the hardest hit during the Covid-19 crisis. With international travel halted and domestic travel on hold the Airbnb Short Term Rental market and other travel booking platforms are facing challenging times.
Many operators have found themselves in distress particularly those that have already experienced the close downs due to bushfires and flooding. Australian communities reliant on tourism, in particular regional and rural areas have had more than enough to cope with over a number of months leading up to Covid -19 closures.
BNB In Style as well as other operators within the Airbnb Short Term Rental Hosting and Management space have had major disruptions to our daily business activities. However, at BnB in Style this has provided us an opportunity to pivot our business and engage in strategising for business development. In the usual busy work day there is sometimes little breathing space and headspace to step out of daily activities and look to the future. The future for BnB in Style is clearly more engagement with Property Owners / Investors and Developers to encourage use of idle or underperforming properties and provide great passive income with the expected increased influx of domestic travelers.
At BnB In Style we see that our company can be part of the economic recovery plan as Airbnb style holidays have been generating increasing amounts of money turnaround in communities pre Covid and will not doubt be a stimulus leader in the post Covid-19 travel period. Employment of locals as Short term rental property support staff including but not limited to cleaning services has created job opportunities locally. Tourists spend money locally when on holidays which stimulates local business activities. All this leads us to have an optimistic outlook as domestic travel ramps up.
Future looks bright for Domestic Travel and Airbnb Short Term Rental model
The future of the Short term rental model is bright in the Post Covid isolation environment.
Homebased accommodation is likely to hold a more conducive appeal to travelers that do not want to have exposure to crowds and the inevitable flow of people experienced in larger accommodation venues like hotels and resorts. People are looking for space, safety and comfort.
A sense of security and reliability with smaller Airbnb type accommodation and holiday homes will rank higher in interest for the discerning traveler. In these controlled environments of Airbnb type accommodations our guests can enjoy being away from the confines of home, know who they are rooming with and have a sense of control of their surroundings and activities which have previously been severely curtailed due to Covid- 19 restrictions.
There is nothing better than enjoying free time with relatives and friends in comfortable accommodations.
Domestic travel options at first will be limited to primarily traveling within your state however as state borders are opened and travel within Australia is more freely accessible our communities will be more than keen to explore previously enjoyed tourist areas as well as discover new territory.
Domestic travel will boom.
Airbnb type accommodation has been on an uphill trajectory for some time gaining popularity with a range of age groups. Airbnb accommodations vary in style from 1 bed apartments to unique lifestyle homes which provides a myriad of holiday options for couples through to groups.
According to AirDNA research the 2 factors influencing the recovery trajectory in the Short Term Stay arena are reliance on international travellers and easy to drive to locations https://www.airdna.co/blog/global-vacation-rental-bookings-skyrocket-by-127-after-surge-in-domestic-tourism.
Reviving the Road Trip
Accessible locations by road trip from major centres will be high on traveler’s wishlist as travel restrictions ease. Cross border travel will be delayed initially while Covid- 19 restrictions remain in place and only intrastate visitations to holiday accommodations allowable.There will likely be a reticence to accessing flights initially with proposed lengthy checkin procedures adopted to screen passengers and limitations on numbers of seats available per flight.
Guest concerns regarding accommodation hygiene is valid
Short Term Rental Property Managers will be revising their cleaning routines to ensure sanitising practices are compliant with appropriate health department, WHO and booking platforms recommendations.
BNB In Style have a positive reputation for a high standard of cleanliness in their properties pre Covid -19. Enhancing our strategies to provide a safe space for our guests we have now instigated a sanitising routine to ensure a best practice approach is followed after each guest departure which accommodates our need to eliminate health risk for not only our guests but our much valued Airbnb cleaning support staff.
Shorter lead times
Booking platforms have noted a change to guest’s pattern for booking short term stays. Guests are primarily booking last minute,this potentially may be due to the uncertainty of the lifting of travel restrictions however this pattern may also be a response to the fear of not being able to obtain refunds if lightening of travel restrictions are reversed.
Trend toward less congested areas
Rural, regional,beach house and farm escapes are considered likely to be favoured as short term rental accommodations and a steering away from more congested population areas. A holiday staying in a private home rather than larger resort type accommodation will appeal. The benefit of this type of holiday is the environment is more controlled and guests know who they are engaging with on a daily basis.
Places where guests can explore and do their own thing in the company of family and friends seems to be more highly valued post Covid -19 lockdown.
Airbnb Short Term Rental Market is rebounding from Covid-19 isolation restrictions with travellers keen to stretch their legs and seek some respite outside their home environment. Airbnb type properties are ideal for holidays with family and friends where the comforts of home can be enjoyed with congestion and exposure limited.
BnB In Style look forward to welcoming back our guests into our properties.
We’re working harder than ever to make your travel dreams come true.
