Airbnb impact on the hotel market in Brussels

Created in 2007 and already valued at $31 billion in 2019, Airbnb is a model of profitability worldwide. With the rise of the collaborative economy in recent years, the consumer has appropriated a new way of travelling. More immersive, different from the traditional hotel model and generally cheaper, Airbnb has become in a few years the reference in the way of short-term real estate rental. Airbnb has been able to develop a profitable and competitive business model, but is this new offer to the detriment of the hotel industry in Brussels? The authors looked at the impact of Airbnb on the hotel market in Brussels from a quantitative perspective. Attention was focused not only on average hotel financial variables in Brussels but also on Airbnb supply diversity on hotel industry competitiveness. Some research have identified Airbnb accommodations and hotel rooms as substitute while others plaid for Airbnb and hotel industry to be complementary. In this econometric study, the case of cohabitation between hotels and Airbnb is analysed in order to define substitution and complementarity trends according to different characteristics related to these different means of short-term accommodation.