{"id":796108,"date":"2024-10-21T07:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-10-21T05:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/?p=796108"},"modified":"2024-10-21T08:52:18","modified_gmt":"2024-10-21T06:52:18","slug":"airbnb-storm-brewing-in-south-africa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/property\/796108\/airbnb-storm-brewing-in-south-africa\/","title":{"rendered":"Airbnb storm brewing in South Africa"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

South Africans are locked in a debate over the positive and negative impacts of the proliferation of the short-term rental market in the City of Cape Town.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Western Cape as a whole has had the highest rents in South Africa since 2016, and according to data collated by PayProp, the average rental cost in the province is R10,673 \u2013 21% higher than the national average.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While prices go up, Cape Town\u2019s short-term rental sector in particular is soaring, boasting properties on the likes of Airbnb, Booking.com and LekkeSlaap.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The biggest platform for the short-term rental market, Airbnb, has 23,564 active listings across the City, surpassing the number sported across numerous popular tourist destinations like San Francisco (7,888), Amsterdam (9,310), Athens (13,274), Berlin (13,759), Sydney (15,548), Tokyo (16,518) and Barcelona (18,925).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Its proliferation in the Mother City is linked to the city’s booming tourism sector and increased realisation of the lucrativeness of the opportunity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to research<\/strong><\/a> from the short-term rental platform, in 2023, Airbnb hosts in Cape Town welcomed over 700,000 guests, contributing approximately R14.4 billion to GDP, supporting 42,000 jobs and generating R7 billion in labour income.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A typical host earned R74,000 in the year and almost half rely on this income to manage living costs, with many feeling pressured to host more due to the economic climate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, some critics have argued that this is linked to “tourism gentrification” of the Mother City.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Very broadly, tourism gentrification refers to the process where an influx of tourists staying in short-term rentals leads to the transformation of a neighborhood, often resulting in rising property values and living costs that price out locals. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Sunday Times recently reported<\/a> that the listings boom in Cape Town is drawing flak from residents who say that they are being priced out of their city.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
South Africans feeling the Airbnb squeeze<\/a><\/blockquote>