Holiday rental market worth 4,300 million euros in two years

Over this period, approximately seven million travellers between the ages of 18 and 65 rented accommodation. Of these, 85% also booked into hotels, while the rest only used private properties. Of the economic activity created, 3,408 million went on entertainment/leisure and on food over the course of stays. Consequently, a figure of 141.3 euros average spend per person is derived, as opposed to 432.8 euros per person per day from someone in a hotel.

The survey shows that those who opted for both holiday rentals and hotels made, on average, more trips than others - an average of almost seven. Those choosing only hotels made an average of 4.4 trips, while private renters made just under an average of three. People who opt to only rent privately do so for more nights on average, i.e. 6.9, and make up larger groups of guests (4.2) than those in hotels, who stay an average of three nights with groups of 3.8.

The main users of holiday rentals are families (48%), followed by couples (30%) and groups of friends (21%). In hotels, on the other hand, 52% of couples are ahead of 33% families and 8% friends.

The public relations director of HomeAway in Spain, Joseba Cortázar, says that the principal reasons for choosing either option - hotel or private accommodation - are to “relax and to escape from routine and stress.”

The main factors at the time of choosing types of accommodation are price, location and the local environment/facilities. 68% of those who only go to hotels do so via the internet, with the number down to  57% for those renting privately. More than a third of those who stay in both types of accommodation post comments on the internet. Negative comments for private property do not go over 2.3%, while for hotels they are 3.9%.

The study also finds that in the event of there not being properties available in a chosen destination, 43% of users change the destination, while 24% look for alternative accommodation in the same place.