Travel Market Insights
Spain Set to De-List Thousands of Unregistered Vacation Rentals
Spain’s short-term rental market is bracing for major disruption as its housing ministry prepares to delist thousands of unregistered tourist apartments during the peak summer season.
Starting in mid-August, Spain’s housing ministry will begin enforcing a 2024 law that requires all short-term rentals to display a unique rental registration number (NRA in Spanish). Listings that fail to comply will be removed from major platforms like Airbnb.
“We continue to put a stop to illegal tourist apartments to guarantee the right to decent housing,” Housing Minister Isabel Rodríguez said in mid-July when the government and Airbnb announced an agreement to enforce the new law.
The first apartments will be removed from platforms in mid-August after they are given a 10-day grace period to appeal.
An Airbnb spokesperson told Skift on Tuesday that the company has led discussions at the European
Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky said during the company’s second-quarter earnings call Wednesday that it is still “feeling out” the possibility of working with the big AI chatbots like ChatGPT, which he called “an incredibly compelling product.”
“We’re certainly open to” integrating with major AI Chatbots, which could be a source of lead generation for Airbnb, Chesky said.
Unlike Booking.com, which has partnerships with OpenAI, Amazon Web Services and Microsoft and sees generative AI chatbots as a new distribution channel, Airbnb has made no decisions yet about selling stays, Services or Experiences through major AI assistants.
AI Chatbots Are
Key Points
- Airbnb relaunched its Experiences and introduced new Services, showing promising early results with 60,000 host applications.
- The company reported strong Q2 financials, including 13% revenue growth (to $13.1 billion) and a 16% rise in net income, outpacing expectations.
- AI-powered customer service has been expanded to all U.S. users, reducing the need for human agents by 15%, with plans for further global rollout.
Summary
Airbnb reported strong second-quarter financial results, highlighted by the positive early performance of its relaunched Experiences and new Services segment, which allow guests to book additional amenities. The company saw a 7% year-over-year increase in nights and seats booked, significant revenue and net income growth, and notable international expansion, particularly in markets like Japan. Additionally, Airbnb expanded AI-powered customer service to all U.S. users, reducing human support needs, with global rollout planned.
Southwest Airlines flights will now be available to book on Priceline, making it the second online travel agency to partner with the Dallas-based carrier.
The two companies announced the partnership on Wednesday, and through the deal, Southwest flights will also be available across Booking Holdings platforms, which include Booking.com and Agoda.
Southwest customers will be able to compare fare bundles and earn Southwest Rapid Rewards points, along with Pricelin
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