Project
Airbnb: Competing or Complementing?
Self-initiated
Airbnb was founded in San Francisco in 2008 and it has since become a significant player in the accommodation sector globally, operating in 191 countries and offering over two million listings worldwide - but what has its impact been in London?
Working alongside our Town Centre & Retail and Research teams we designed an infographic looking into spatial trends of hotels and Airbnb across Central London, as well as the current hotel rooms in London's development pipeline.
The design concept was of a ‘travel tag’ – which led to a playful visual outcome.
The rise of sharing economy services such as Airbnb has been cause for concern for operators in the Hotels sector in recent years, but the evidence from cities across the world is mostly anecdotal. Our comparative analysis highlighted clear spatial trends and showed that Airbnb listings and Hotel rooms in London tend to serve different markets, both geographically and demographically, complementing each other to make London an attractive destination for tourists and business travellers alike.
Steven Butterworth, Senior Director, Lichfields