The single-family short-term rental market is expected to expand to a total $34 billion by the end of 2017, a market that, until this point, Airbnb is the dominate player.
But, maybe not for long.
Now, Google decided it wants in, according to an article by Riley McDermid for L.A. Biz. The tech giant is making listings viewable through its hotel search engine in some European cities. Vacationers can now add accommodation type when searching on Google and browse through homes and apartments.
From the article:
So far, Google has around 7,000 vacation rental listings in Paris, Barcelona, Naples, Seville, Berlin, Venice, Rome, Palermo, Bordeaux, Madrid, Cologne, Munich, Dresden, Milan, Frankfurt, Nice, Lisbon, Nuremberg, Reims and Porto.
Google is currently allowing guests to then use Priceline's Booking.com platform to book the stays.
However, while the feature is only currently available in Europe, Google explained this is only a small-scale experiment, and said it hopes to soon increase its inventory, inventory type and partners, according to the article.
The current discussion surrounding Airbnb and its possible disruption of the of the housing market doesn’t look to subside anytime soon. In fact, as new players enter the single-family short-term rental space and the market continues to grow, investors could continue to flood in to capitalize on the trend and take up much-needed housing inventory.
