You recently requested for some research about private accommodation rental services. I am pleased to report to you the following pertinent information about this type of accommodation services.
Typically, private rental accommodation services list properties in online databases, which can be accessed by customers. Customers search the databases by location and contact property owners using information provided by the owners. On top of the rental fee, customers pay a guest service fee to the company that provides the private accommodation services. Hotels frequently use private accommodation rental services to book lodges for their guests (Urry, 2003).
The main advantage of private accommodation services is that they enable homeowners to get extra income by renting unused space. Owners of big home can rent out extra rooms in their properties to guests. Frequently travelling guests can stay in these rooms for less than the cost of a hotel room. Generally, travelers enjoy accommodations that offer different expectations from normal hotels. Many of these travelers find the personalized services offered by the homeowners to be ideal for short-term stay, such as a single night. Moreover, most private accommodation rental services target budget-minded customers. They are thus ideal for business class travelers and tourists who would like to spend less (Singh, 2008).
Since most of the private homes are situated in residential districts outside the city, they offer the convenience of reduced traffic jams and serenity. This is contrast to the experience of hotels because most of them are situated in cities, making them inaccessible during heavy traffic. In fact, booking through private accommodation rental services offers the benefit of more choice about the location and the type of property a guest wants to stay in. Because there are hundreds of properties listed from any single location, guests can find accommodation easily than waiting through a long list in hotel registers. With private accommodation rental services, guests do not have to be on a priority group to get accommodation. All they have to do is identify the desired property and location, pay rental fee and keep the terms of agreement.
A study by Lew (2008) revealed that the main reason why travelers and holidaymakers use online rental services is to save money. It can be much cheaper for a traveler to stay in a home or apartment rented through an online rental service than a hotel. This makes private accommodation rental particularly cost effective for travelers with families. Unlike hotels, private accommodation rentals do not charge per person for people with families. In addition, the guest may get a kitchen and other amenities and thus save money on eating in hotels during the stay. For guests who prefer their own ways of preparing food, private accommodation rental is the way to go.
Despite the above benefits, there are some concerns for booking through private accommodation rental services. The biggest risk for the homeowner is that their property may be vandalized. While majority of transactions occur without incidents, there are reports of rented houses being littered, house destroyed and valuable items stolen. In rare cases, the entire house can be razed down either intentionally or due to the negligence of the guest. This is a major problem because currently the insurance market for private accommodation rental services is not fully developed. In the absence of insurance cover, owners of damaged properties risk incurring huge losses (Lew, 2008).
The biggest risk for guests is that the property may fail to match the description offered in the database. It has been found that the adverts, descriptions and photographs posted on the websites of private accommodation rentals can be misleading, exaggerated or downright dishonesty meant to lure unsuspecting guests. While most hosting services check out the locations they list before including them in the database, not all do so and some of them do not give guarantee that the information is accurate. Sometimes, the homeowner may be unresponsive to the guest once the latter pays rent. Risks of such an eventuality can be minimized through verified identification checks, profile reviews and secure payment platforms (Singh, 2008).
The rise of private accommodation rentals has had serious impacts on the tourism industry. According to Lew (2008), private accommodation rentals take a substantial share of income traditionally enjoyed by hotels and other players in the tourism industry. This is because they offer cost effective rentals to thousands of guests. With the revenue of private accommodation rentals expected to double each year as these services become popular, their impact is expected to grow proportionately. In the end, private accommodation rentals will become significant players in the competitive landscape of the tourism industry. Most importantly, these services will overtake small hotels and lodges.
Another impact is loss of jobs. As guest opt for the cost effective private accommodation rentals, hotels are set to lose a substantial share of their customers. To compensate for the losses, the hotels will most likely downsize their workforces. Unlike private accommodation rentals, hotels are labor-intensive businesses that generate significant employment opportunities. By reducing demand for hotels, jobs that would handle the operations of the hotels are also lost. This is one of the reasons why hotels are against the increasing popularity of private accommodation rentals (Urry, 2003).
In conclusion, the concept of private accommodation rental services appears to be a paradigm shift in the operations of the tourism industry. These services provide online market place through which guests are connected to homeowners. They are widely used to thrift tourists looking for cheaper lodges to stay for a short time. Although there are risks associated with using private accommodation rentals, they offer immense benefits to both the guest and the homeowners. Private accommodation rental arrangements enable homeowners to get extra income by renting their properties. On the other hand, guests get access to cheap rental properties instead of staying in expensive hotels.
References
Lew, A. (2008). Long Tail Tourism: New geographies for marketing niche tourism products. Journal of Travel & Tourism Marketing, 25 (3-4): 409–419.
Singh, L. K. (2008). Issues in Tourism Industry: Fundamental of Tourism and Travel. Delhi: Isha Books.
Urry, J. (2003). Social Networks, Travel and Talk. British Journal of Sociology, 54 (2): 155–175.
