Airbnb Goes Mainstream, Unlocks a New World of Shared Travel

Airbnb, the major website for short-term rental accommodation, has revolutionized the way we travel. Now larger than some of the biggest international hotel chains, it has inspired many travelers and other companies to join the growing travel sharing economy. A whole new way to travel has emerged and spread accross all sectors – accommodation, transportation, dining and destination experiences.

When, at the end of 2013, Airbnb reported it had reached 10 million stays since its launch in 2008, it became obvious that peer-to-peer (P2P) travel has gone mainstream. Close to 60% of the 10 million stays occurred in that year alone. An exponential growth that shows the trend is no longer confined to a market of adventurous early adopters traveling on a budget. It had turned into a broad social and economic movement creating an entirely new world of shared travel.

A new world that both guests and hosts are equally enthusiastic to create. It is now increasingly popular to not only stay at a unique local place when you travel – be it a trendy loft in New York City, a charming apartment in Paris or a tree house in Hawaii – but also to be the host of one.

Airbnb, now operating in 192 countries, reported that the total number of listings on its platform had reached 550,000 worldwide. Such room capacity rivals hotel chains the size of Hilton Worldwide which operates 670, 000 rooms in 90 countries.

So, 2013 has become the year in which the travel sharing economy officially took off.

A new way to travel

Airbnb has been getting the most of the media buzz lately but it is not the only one shaping this trend. Many other companies are taking part in the travel sharing economy not only in the accommodation sector but also in transportation, dining and destination experiences.

You can now plan a shared travel experience from beginning to end if you have the social aptitude for it.  You can stay at a local’s home of your choice, dine at a local’s table, share a ride or rent a local’s car, hire a local to share insights of the place you visit or simply hang out with them and see the world in a way that was not possible before. A dream come true for any seeker of an authentic travel experience!

And, if you happen to be on the hosting end of things, you can become, something of a one-person travel business, a micro-entrepreneur, benefiting and enjoying yourself just as equally as the visitors. Welcome to the world of shared travel!

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Who are the champions of the travel sharing economy?

Below are just a few examples of companies from the different travel sectors.

    Accommodation

Couchsurfing, a movement of itself launched back in 2004, connects 6 million members around the world to stay at each other’s homes for free. Although following a slightly different “non profit” model, it is a trendsetter of the travel sharing culture.

HomeAway, another “veteran” launched in 2005, focuses on vacation rentals. It owns several websites around the world including HomeAway.com, VRBO.com and VacationRentals.com. The company has already signed a deal with Expedia to include its listings. Its properties are run and listed by the owners as well as by management companies.

OneFineStay, 9flats, Roomorama, GesttoGuest.com are among the many companies that compete with Airbnb and have sprung up recently to ride, in one way or another, the new P2P travel wave.

(Update: Click here for a detailed list of P2P accommodation websites)

     Transportation

Ridesharing, which has been popular for a while, has also seen a growth spur lately. Uber, founded in 2009 as an on-demand black car service, expanded its car options later on and currently operates in more than 60 cities in North America, Europe and Asia. Lyft, with its distinctive pink moustache emblem, is among Uber’s major competitors. So are Sidecar, BlaBlaCar and several others.

Carsharing, or P2P car rental, is lead by RelayRides, Getaround and FlightCar. RelayRides was launched in 2010 and claims to be the first one to offer this service. Getaround allows you to rent a car by the hour. FlightCar is the first one to launch P2P car rental at airports benefiting both the travelers who need to leave their cars at long-term parking and those who need to rent one.

     Dining

Feastly, based in Washington DC, Kitchensurfing – New York, Cookening – Paris, and EatWith –Tel Aviv, allow you to try dishes cooked by a local in the atmosphere of his or her home. All of these companies launched in the last two years and compete in the race for the P2P dining marketplace.

     Experiences

Vayable, Anyroad and GetYourGuide are the new platforms that allow you to hire a local to take you around town. There, you can find not only tours typical of a destination but also experiences creatively packaged by the locals to give you a true authentic flavor of the place.

     Search

If, by now, you are wondering how to find what is where with so many options available, you can turn to the search engines aggregating P2P travel offers. There are some out there already. Outpost.travel and Tripping are just a couple taking on that marketplace.

The journey has just begun

The travel sharing marketplace is still quite new and very dynamic. The list above will most likely be outdated sooner than we can imagine. Market penetration for some of the companies is still sparse. Competition is fierce and startups pop up or drop out often. Who will last and who will get lost on the way is yet to be seen.

Regulation controversies spur up too. How the established travel industry will react and adapt, is not entirely clear yet either.

One thing is clear, though – the way we travel has evolved and crossed the point of no return.

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What’s Next for the Travel Sharing Economy