Airbnb, Lehane: “Historically Italy is one of our top markets, almost 250,000 hosts”

“Historically, Italy has always been one of our flagship markets, among our top five markets globally. In Italy we have nearly 250,000 hosts and in 2019, the year before the pandemic, we generated about $ 6 billion in direct economic activities in Italy. And the money stays in Italy. Airbnb is also the largest platform that collects and pays tourist taxes in Italy “. This was stated in an interview with Adnkronos by Chris Lehane, Senior Vice President of Global Policy and Communications at Airbnb, underlining that for Italy the group “is a good partner, responsible and collaborative”. “I’m not sure there is a digital platform that brings more economy directly to Italy than Airbnb,” Lehane points out. “Globally, if you take the number of listings we have, we’re bigger than the top six hotel chains combined.” Over the course of the summer, he notes, “we exceeded one billion arrivals. More than a billion people used the platform. According to many, we are the largest travel company in existence.” “The reason why Italy is positioned in a really interesting way (apart from the great food, the great history, the great art, all those obvious reasons why people travel to Italy) – Lehane points out – is that it is among the countries in the world with the highest level of home ownership, not only the main house but also second and third homes. There are many families who have houses that are not always used and thanks to Airbnb they have the possibility of generating an economic return for the houses they have that are not necessarily used “. The important thing “is that the money that Airbnb helps bring to Italy stays there. With Airbnb, a host earns up to 97%”. Despite the Covid emergency, Airbnb managed to record particularly positive results. “The last quarter was the best quarter in the history of the company. This reflects the fundamental change taking place.” And with the pandemic, unfortunately, argues Lehane, we will have to live with it for a long time to come. “I think we will have to live with Covid for a longer period than perhaps people had anticipated. Now we have entered the fourth wave. It is a long and difficult journey but society is starting to adapt. There are vaccinations and promises. of drugs that will be able to help cure that bodes well, “Lehane points out. In this difficult situation, Airbnb has also been able to reap some benefits. “Our business – he notes – ended up benefiting from that change: quite quickly, with the pandemic and also in Italy, people started looking for entire houses because they wanted to be with their families in a place where they would have control. of their environment, in a place they wanted to be. There has been a real change in the market. “And even smart working can represent an advantage for Airbnb in perspective. “Some of the largest companies in the US, such as Ford, Amazon, PwC, Procter & Gamble, have announced that they will offer their employees some form of flexible work in the future. This means that their employees will be able to work from anywhere. showing up once a quarter to meet their teams. ” All of these changes, he adds, “could be significant for the entire travel industry which is really changing very quickly.” Lehane also remembers his Italian heritage. “I’m Italian-American. My family is mostly Sicilian, three of my four grandparents came from Sicily. In 2013 I stayed in a small town about an hour and a half north of Catania. I stayed in an Airbnb on the road. where my grandfather grew up “. Before, he notes, “I had never really heard of Airbnb. A friend of mine recommended it to me and it was an incredible experience. I live in San Francisco, I went back and called the CEO. It was a small company back then. . I went there, or had lunch with him and I said: ‘the experience I had is the best thing I have ever had’. ” For Lehane in Italy there is an important potential. “More and more people try to make longer stays. There are people who stay 30 days or more, who want to travel with families, people who now with smart working can work and be in different parts of the world at the same time. For me , how nice it would be to work at Airbnb and live in Italy! ” .