Melbourne confirmed as Australia’s ‘Airbnb hub’ but at a price

31 May, 2018

Australians are increasingly choosing to stay in rented houses or rented serviced apartments when they travel. Some 10.4% of travellers stayed in this type of accommodation on their last trip according to Roy Morgan travel research conducted in the year to Mar-2018. This is substantially higher than a decade ago when it was only 7.1%.

Melbourne is Australia's favoured destination with Airbnb travellers. 11.6% of people who visited the city on their last trip stayed in either rented houses or rented serviced apartments on that trip, up 3% on a decade ago.

In comparison only 8.5% of people who visited Sydney on their last trip stayed in either rented houses or rented serviced apartments on that trip, up 1.3% on 10 years ago.

Brisbane has also seen strong growth in this type of accommodation being utilised with 11.4% of people who visited the city on their last trip stayed in either rented houses or rented serviced apartments on that trip compared to 7.2% in 2008.

In Perth, due to the post mining boom, the trend is reversed with only 4.2% of people who visited the WA capital on their last trip stayed in rented houses or rented serviced apartments on that trip, less than half the levels of a decade ago when the mining boom was in full swing.

Australian travellers who stayed in rented houses or rented serviced apartments on last trip

Source: Roy Morgan Travel Research

Roy Morgan Executive Chairman Gary Morgan says the increasing prevalence of short-term Airbnb type accommodation proliferating is a huge problem for Australia's capital cities:

"Airbnb was founded in mid-2008 and over the last decade has been a spectacularly successful business for its investors and for travellers worldwide looking for cheap accommodation.

"Unfortunately, there is a price to pay for this cut-rate accommodation and it is being paid for by apartment buyers and developers who are suffering from a reduction in apartment values caused by short-term travellers.

"Melbourne has seen a huge surge in apartments being used for Airbnb short-term accommodation over the last decade and this has cut the value of apartments. These apartments weren't originally bought or sold on the understanding they would be used as a revolving door by travellers from both Australia and overseas.

"It is vital that the Lord Mayor of Melbourne pushes for legislative action from the State Government to ensure that people renting such apartments stay for a minimum of one month which forces the traveller to invest in the maintenance of the apartment and surrounding amenities."