Brussels Airbnb hosts doubled in one year

During the past year the number of lodgings offered in Brussels via Airbnb has doubled to more than 2,300. The online holiday accomodation site is rapidly gaining popularity in Brussels, just as it is all over the world.

Through Airbnb anyone can rent out a guest room or an entire house for short-term stays. So far, this occurs without authorisation and without fees or taxes. Therefore the hotel industry is calling for a system of regulation for Airbnb, which it refers to as the "anarchist anti-hotel industry."

Lodgings via Airbnb are often cheaper than a hotel or bed and breakfast, so Airbnb attracts price-conscious city trippers. But also business travellers increasingly prefer the more personal room or apartment to yet another faceless hotel chain.

In Brussels, there are currently 2,300 lodgings available via Airbnb, almost twice as much as a year earlier. The Brussels Hotel Federation BHA estimates that Airbnb and similar sites offer in total around 5,000 rooms. In comparison, Brussels has 17,000 hotel rooms.