They want to create alliances with the industry so that the towers built exclusively for short-term rental use function properly.
SANTO DOMINGO. – Airbnb expects that by 2025, its guests' spending in the Dominican Republic will reach US$1.1 billion, according to a team of representatives visiting the country who met yesterday with key players in the local industry.
At the meeting held in a restaurant in the Dominican capital, new findings were revealed from the study conducted by Oxford Economics on the economic impact of travelers who stayed in a space booked through Airbnb during 2021 in the Dominican Republic.
In April of this year, a commission from the platform visited the country to release the first data of the analysis, which reveals that Airbnb guests contribute 1% of the Dominican Republic's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in economic linkages, not taking into account the income generated by lodging.
Titled "How Airbnb Democratizes Tourism in the Dominican Republic?", the report presented new findings. "28,000 indirect jobs are generated by guest spending; 85% of Airbnb guest spending comes from inbound tourism," the report states.
The report suggests that the majority of hosts are small property owners with average incomes of less than US$3,000; in addition, the average host rating in the country in June 2023 was 4.7 out of 5.
The meeting
The Airbnb commission was made up of Liliana Herrera, policy Associate for Airbnb Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean; Enmanuel Alcántara, local consultant for CLC in Santo Domingo and external advisor to Airbnb; Daniel Schuster, regional director of public affairs for CLC in Central America and external advisor to the platform; and Pablo Duncan, managing partner of CLC and external advisor.
This is the second time in 2023 that an Airbnb team has visited the Dominican Republic to engage with sectors involved in the short-term rental business. In April of this year, a delegation visited the country to meet with various stakeholders in the sector and present the first version of the aforementioned study.
Yesterday's "Airbnb Breakfast and Roundtable of the Dominican Republic" was attended by representatives of the Association of Real Estate Agents and Companies, Alberto Bogaert, president; and Isely Almánzar, second vice president; the Dominican Association of Real Estate Tourism (ADETI), the Association of Housing Builders and Promoters (ACOPROVI), tourism clusters, among others.
The president of the AEI explained to El Inmobiliario that with his visit Airbnb seeks to present relevant information for the sector and to bring together the sectors that influence the short-term rental market.
“It was a very pleasant, cordial meeting with a lot of information, where the objective was to stay in contact and contribute ideas for the good functioning of the towers that come with Airbnb; it is about coordinating a commitment to work together,” Bogaert explained.
April figures
According to findings shared by Airbnb's delegation in April, the economic impact generated by guests who used Airbnb in the Dominican Republic during 2021 amounted to US$839 million, said the Oxford Economics study.
Also, in a statement from the platform published last November, the Dominican Republic appears within the top three Airbnb destinations with the highest number of bookings for travel during the 2023 winter season.
The publication states that as international travel normalizes in the post-pandemic era, there is a growing preference for warm-weather destinations, such as Rio de Janeiro or Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic. The tool currently has over 5.6 million active listings.
The Dominican Ministry of Tourism projects that by the end of this last month of the year, the country will have received 10 million visitors.
Cover photo: Airbnb team visiting the country with representatives of the AEI. (External source).
