Airbnb in spotlight as hotel boom continues

Dutch hotels saw an increase in sales of 5 percent compared to the same period of last year. Foreign tourists in particular spent more money on overnight stays in hotels, Statistics Netherlands announced on Monday. These figures exclude overnight stays in room rented out by individual through sites like Airbnb, which is still seen as a growing threat to "old-fashioned" hotels. The Statistics Netherlands figures show that the hotel industry is continuing its upward trend. This is the 8th consecutive quarter that revenues have increased in the industry. Compared to the rest of the hospitality industry, hotels were not hit as hard by the financial crisis. They only saw a decrease in revenues in 2009, but by one year later, revenues were growing again. The hotel industry has been booming, despite the difficult economic situation. Since 2007 the number of hotels has increased by more than 36 percent. According to Statistics Netherlands, this increase can be mainly attributed to small businesses, such as bead and breakfasts with only one person on the payroll. A report released by ING on Monday describes individuals renting out rooms trough sites like Airbnb as a growing threat to old-fashioned hotels, the Telegraaf reports. Tourists in particular are increasingly looking to Airbnb for accommodation. In the past seven years, the offer on Airbnb has surpassed that of even some of the largest hotel chains in the Netherlands, such as Van der Valk and Accor, and the peak has not been reached yet, according to economists at the bank. One percent of the Dutch population have rented his house to a tourist and 6 percent are willing to do so. The uneven playing field is gradually being leveled with better control by local authorities and the tax authorities. Clearer rules on renting out a home for tourists purposes has extracted this practice from the underground economy.