Occupancy on Airbnb and vacation rentals surpasses hotels in Cancun

The vacation rentals  (schemes such as Airbnb ) continue in open competition with traditional hospitality to the report average occupations of between 40% and 50%, well above the numbers that keep hotels in the Riviera Maya and Cancun, which do not exceed 30% and 40%, respectively.

According to the Airdna firm, which measures the behavior of the rooms through the digital platform modality, currently, 24 thousand units, out of an average of 43 thousand in Quintana Roo, are operating, mainly in Playa del Carmen and Cancun.

According to Airdna, they are one more option for travelers who arrive at the entity, which is why the authorities seek to be in constant contact for the monitoring and application of health security measures and even rapid COVID-19 tests.

Marisol Vanegas Pérez, head of the Ministry of Tourism (Sedetur) in Quintana Roo, explained that they continue with the process of regularization of this type of accommodation in order to put a level floor with the hotel sector, hand in hand with the federal government for paying taxes.

According to data from the Quintana Roo Tax Administration Service, at the time the vacation platforms generated from 12 to 15 million pesos per month from withholding taxes on lodging.

For its part, the Airbnb platform reported that with remote work (or home office) more people are traveling outside of peak seasons and this makes their stays longer as well.

According to measurements from that platform, travelers have increased bookings for stays of 28 nights or more.

A quarter of those surveyed want longer stays this year, while almost one in five (19%) say they have already rented a vacation home for a stay longer than 28 days since the pandemic began, which is positive for destinations.