Airbnb Sets Out to Conquer the Countryside!
The health issue connected to the coronavirus has impacted the Airbnb house rental platform, as well as the broader tourism industry. Far from being vanquished, its leaders have chosen to strike back by tailoring their offer to the major desire of the French who have been imprisoned repeatedly: to flee to the countryside. Concentrate on a unique development approach that also serves as a wonderful communication coup.
A rural offer to be developed
The conclusion is clear: rural regions account for fewer than 7% of Airbnb listings. In France, around 50,000 people have been certified on the site, out of a total of 700,000. Even if their market share has risen dramatically in recent years, the wait is still substantial, and the firm fears losing a big number of bookings to the competition.
The moment appears to be ripe to act: requests for bookings in rural locations are growing, originating from city inhabitants trying to escape the cramped nature of their city accommodations, or from those searching for good weekend discounts but avoiding visiting major cities due to health risks. Since the beginning of the epidemic, rural Airbnb hosts have earned more than 450 million euros.
Objective : 15,000 additional ads in the campaign
Airbnb has set a lofty goal of attracting a significant number of property owners, with the goal of expanding its rural advertising offering to 15,000 listings by the end of 2021. And the firm is equipping itself with the tools it needs, including a cooperation with the Association of Rural Mayors of France (AMRF) geared at coordinating tourist development in rural regions.
Not only that, but there’s more! The “Rural Bootcamp,” an online training platform, is being developed with the goal of ensuring the quality of the rental offer through a variety of tips and techniques.
A bonus of 100 euros for each rental advertisement
Airbnb has agreed to give a bonus of € 100 for each ad that is genuinely placed in rural regions, in order to encourage as many towns as possible to participate in the game. So, if the 2021 aim is met, we’ll have a budget of 1.5 million euros to disburse!
However, don’t get too excited: this incentive will be given to the AMRF rather than the real estate owners. To gather these money, the latter announced the construction of a device known as “Campaigns of the Future,” which is dedicated to the development of tourism in rural regions.
The area of tourist real estate rental, like catering and cultural, exudes commendable vitality and a desire to rebound after a rocky year in 2020. Let’s not let their efforts go to waste; let’s get away for the weekend as soon as possible! We can bet that vaccination and the removal of travel restrictions will result in long-term improvements for all of these actors throughout 2021.