Airbnb sees the tourist boom and lack of hotel accommodation in Reykjavík as a golden opportunity, claims Hermann Valsson, who examined accommodation adverts on Google for his Bachelor thesis in tourism management.
“We’ve seen a massive increase in Airbnb accommodation in Reykjavík because hotels have long reached their capacity and the company seems to be tapping into that,” he told Morgunblaðið newspaper. Now, when people search for accommodation in Iceland on Google, Airbnb will be one of the top results.
Nearly 1,900 properties in Reykjavík are listed on the Airbnb. This means 4% of all residential apartments in the capital are being rented out to tourists. And of those who visited Iceland in 2015, one in five stayed at Airbnb rentals.
However, many believe Airbnb rentals have pushed property and rental prices to rise and created a housing shortage for local residents.
Airbnb sees the tourist boom and lack of hotel accommodation in Reykjavík as a golden opportunity, claims Hermann Valsson, who examined accommodation adverts on Google for his Bachelor thesis in tourism management.
“We’ve seen a massive increase in Airbnb accommodation in Reykjavík because hotels have long reached their capacity and the company seems to be tapping into that,” he told Morgunblaðið newspaper. Now, when people search for accommodation in Iceland on Google, Airbnb will be one of the top results.
Nearly 1,900 properties in Reykjavík are listed on the Airbnb. This means 4% of all residential apartments in the capital are being rented out to tourists. And of those who visited Iceland in 2015, one in five stayed at Airbnb rentals.
However, many believe Airbnb rentals have pushed property and rental prices to rise and created a housing shortage for local residents.
