In Costa Rica the total amount of accommodation available for rent through the web platform Airbnb is now equivalent to 18% of the hotels in the country.
The figure has been confirmed by the union of hoteliers, who say there is now a total of 11,000 homes offering accommodation for tourism through Airbnb.On top of this data there are also residences rented to tourists through other platforms such as Homeaway or VRBO.
Tourists are renting more and more houses for leisure purposes, competing strongly with the traditional hotel industry.
Vacation rental is defined as the renting of villas, houses, apartments or country estates for a few days or weeks, and is growing fast around the world. Central America is no exception to this phenomenon, which suits especially families or small groups.
A smart combination of marketing, promotional packages, agreements with wholesalers, and good service has allowed some hotels to “be doing well.”
Generally, it is hotels with less than 40 rooms, which don’t depend on large flows of tourists, that are less seriously affected by the crisis in regards to securing a good clientele with occupancy levels above 80%.