The Coronavirus effect: Consumers migrate from Airbnb to Idealista

Homes used for vacation rentals return to the traditional rental market in the face of the coronavirus crisis.

On March 11, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the coronavirus outbreak, known as COVID-19, a global pandemic.

In Spain, the state of alarm decreed by the Government to stop the spread of the coronavirus and the closure of borders, has forced many homeowners to abandon the business of tourist apartments. Fear and citizen commitment forces to stay at home except in cases of force majeure, the reduction of rail, maritime and air transport and the closure of borders of the European Union, has caused the demand for flats through platforms such as Airbnb to have reduced to practically zero.

The company announced its measures by joining other companies in the sector such as Room Mate Group and Destinia, it has launched a special cancellation and information policy for the coronavirus to also protect its guests and hosts. Reservations for accommodation and experiences on Airbnb made until March 14, 2020, with arrival between that date and April 14, 2020, can be canceled before arrival using this policy.

Travelers who cancel will receive a full refund and hosts can cancel free of charge and without affecting their Superhost status. Airbnb will reimburse all service fees for qualifying cancellations.

The host's cancellation policy will apply as usual to reservations made after March 14, 2020 and to reservations made up to that same date and arriving after April 14, 2020.

At an economic level, the tourism sector suffers first hand the effects of the epidemic, the times are not very optimistic, homeowners in the face of this panorama have put their homes for traditional rent, an increase registered by the idealista portal, in the last 24 hours 434 new homes have been registered, this increase has been noticeable since last week, reaching 2,250 available homes.

The crises bring chaos and opportunities. The real estate market will undoubtedly undergo a transformation that is still taking shape, but the vacation rental sector already gives us some clues.