Airbnb's market share in the number of guest nights has increased considerably, reaching 10.2 percent in 2016 and reaching 14.3 percent by 2017 in Budapest. Based on a recent Airbnb analysis by Colliers International and Hotelschool The Hague, Budapest’s V, VI, and VII districts are the most popular ones, 69% of the city's reservations concentrate on these districts, so the bookings show a strong location concentration on the downtown properties.
In 2017 Airbnb activities increased significantly by 35% in terms of the number of guest nights compared to 2016, reaching approximately 1.5 million by the end of 2017. By comparison, the number of guest nights in hotels increased by 7.2 % in 2017, it means 8.9 million.
Airbnb's share in the Budapest real estate market is already at the forefront in comparison with the major European cities. Only Paris (15.2% growth) and Barcelona (13.2% growth) are ahead of the Hungarian capital.
In the most popular districts, Airbnb flat owners can achieve a higher price level for room prices than in the less popular districts. At the same time, it also appears that the demand for Airbnb is still not significant in other districts of the city.
The research shows that the Airbnb market in Budapest is driven by professional proprietors, as most hosts (65%) own more than two Airbnb apartments. This number is significantly above the 40-50% average proportion of most European cities. These proprietors are now professional short-term property managers, who handle the growing numbers of apartments bought by foreign and local real estate investors.
As in the previous years, in 2017 the one-room, private (meaning not shared) apartments were the most popular choices, as nearly 55% of the bookings were made on this type of accommodation. Experts expect the Airbnb market to grow in the next few years, in line with the increase in the number of tourists visiting Budapest. While property prices are still way lower than in the neighboring city of Vienna or the quite similar Prague, investors can expect very high returns on their property investments in Budapest.
The information contained in this article is provided by the authentic Airbnb database, the AirDNA.
