2023-11-24 09:42:47
The popularity of Airbnb is only worsening the housing shortage, authorities in many cities denounce. Alex Reed on La Matinale on Friday, Emmanuel Marill, regional director of the platform, believes that these short-term rentals have very little impact and on the contrary allow you to “make ends meet”. He specifies that in Switzerland, Airbnb rentals brought in 5,000 francs on average for hosts in 2022.
The Airbnb platform is accused in several countries of worsening the housing shortage in city centers and causing rents to explode. Emmanuel Marill, director of Airbnb in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, denies this. “This is not what our studies show,” he says in La Matinale de la RTS.
A study by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) looked at the impact of short-term rental in France. It appears that this impact “can be put into perspective”. This study “shows that the vacancy of housing, that problems between owners and tenants or the absence of housing construction have a much greater impact on the increase in rents or the scarcity of housing than Airbnb”, indicates Emmanuel Marill.
According to Airbnb figures, more than half of the accommodations available on the platform are the hosts’ primary residence. “They do it at home, when they go on vacation or on weekends,” explains Emmanuel Marill. Furthermore, in Europe, 15% of people only provide a room. “So if you tell these people to stop Airbnb, it’s not going to add housing to the city in question,” he says.
Airbnb is probably one of the best ways to make ends meet with what costs you the most, namely your house.
Emmanuel Marill, Director of Airbnb in Europe, Middle East and Africa
Necessary regulation
However, some large cities have taken measures to regulate this type of rental, believing that Airbnb is occupying accommodation that is not on the market. The Italian city of Florence, for example, has decided to ban new temporary residential rentals in its historic center so that they remain accessible to residents and New York prohibits rentals of less than 30 days. Also in Switzerland, certain cities limit the number of days during which an individual can rent out their accommodation.
>> Reread: Florence bans new short-term rentals
For Emmanuel Marill, regulations are important, provided they are not punitive. Airbnb’s regional director calls on governments “to regulate in a concerted and proportional way”, citing as an example “the framework that the European Commission has defined”.
The European Union has indeed reached an agreement to strengthen transparency in the collection of data on short-term rental platforms. The platforms will therefore have to transmit every month, in an automated manner, data on the number of nights rented and customers to public authorities.
Answer to a need
If Airbnb supports this regulation, we should not go beyond it, believes the platform. “To ban an activity like this would be to penalize local populations,” said Emmanuel Marill. “Airbnb is probably one of the best ways to make ends meet with what costs you the most, namely your house,” he says, specifying that in Switzerland, Airbnb rentals have brought in 5,000 francs on average to hosts in 2022.
There is also a real demand for alternative accommodation for travelers, believes Emmanuel Marill. While some hoteliers cry unfair competition, he believes that their services are on the contrary complementary. “For an overnight trip, for example, hotels are interesting,” he explains, unlike longer stays or stays with family.
On the one hand, we have people who want to travel differently and on the other, we have people who need money. That’s why it works so well
Emmanuel Marill, Director of Airbnb in Europe, Middle East and Africa
According to Emmanuel Marill, Airbnb is becoming particularly interesting for travelers with limited financial means. “If you want to discover a major European capital and you are a student, you do not necessarily have colossal means,” he says. “The opportunity given via Airbnb, which is very affordable, allows this discovery.”
For Emmanuel Maril, Airbnb therefore meets a need of the population, which explains its success. “On the one hand, we have people who want to travel differently and on the other, we have people who need money. That’s why it works so well,” he concludes.
Comments collected: Pietro Bugnon
Web adaptation: Emilie Délétroz
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