Airbnb revenues up 89 percent, driven by Millennials

With the end of August drawing near, travelers are returning from their summer getaways in droves. Data from Slice Intelligence shows that Airbnb was a major benefactor of the summer vacation season. Despite ongoing legal battles in two of its biggest markets, Airbnb saw revenue increase 89 percent in July 2016 relative to the same month last year. Meanwhile, other hotel booking sites -- Booking.com, Expedia, Hotels.com, Hotline, Orbitz, and Priceline -- experienced more modest growth of 19 percent on average over the same time period.

Airbnb seems to have attracted a clientele that plans for the longer term. Slice data indicates that 38 percent of Airbnb guests booked their travel more than a month in advance, compared to only 23 percent who did so on other hotel booking sites. Only six percent of Airbnb guests made their reservation on the day that their stay began.

Airbnb guests enjoy significant discounts on the average hotel price paid online. In the last twelve months, those who stayed at an Airbnb spent 26 percent less per night on lodgings than hotel guests. And savings in major cities can be even higher. Airbnb guests in Los Angeles, for example, have saved an average of 47 percent dating back to last July.

Airbnb occupies a unique space within the ecosystem of traditional hotel chains. Airbnb's low price point -- an average of $128 per night nationwide over the last twelve months -- puts it on par with discount hotels like Best Western ($125), Comfort Inn & Suites ($124), and Country Inn ($117). Yet Airbnb guests book an average of 3.5 nights, a length of stay more befitting of a luxury hotel chain.

The growth of Airbnb, like much of the "sharing economy", is driven by millennials. Almost half of Airbnb patrons in the last year have been between the ages of 18 and 34. By contrast, only 28 percent of guests who booked through Marriott.com fell in the millennial generation.

With a panel of over 4 million online shoppers, Slice Intelligence gives the most detailed, and accurate digital commerce data available, and is reported daily.

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Slice gets its data from e-receipts – not a browser, app or software installed by the end-user – so its measurement reflects comprehensive shopping behavior across multiple devices, over time which are key in an increasingly omnichannel retail world. Slice Intelligence is the exclusive e-commerce data provider for the NPD’s Checkout Tracking e-commerce service.