Prague books ninth place on Airbnb ranking
Prague belongs among the top ten Airbnb destinations this summer, according to a survey released by the travel company this week. The Czech capital was placed ninth, one spot behind Lisbon and one spot ahead of Amsterdam. The most popular destinations among Airbnb travellers are London, Paris and Barcelona.
The number of tourists using private accommodation has been gradually increasing in recent years. According to the state agency Czech Tourism, the number of tourists in the Czech Republic accommodated in private or shared accommodation amounted to 2.2 million in the period between January and September 2016.
Tourists using private accommodation in the Czech Republic mostly come from France, Italy and the UK. More than half of them were first-time visitors and most of them stayed in the Czech capital.
Prague authorities are currently looking for ways to regulate private booking services, such as limiting the rental time or introducing fees. Similar measures have already been introduced in other European cities, including Berlin, Munich or Barcelona.
Airbnb, a website for people to list, find and rent lodging, was established in 2008 in San Francisco. At the moment, it offers over two million rooms or apartments in 34, 000 towns and 190 countries. Airbnb currently has a value of 25.5 billion US dollars, which makes it the third highest valued start-up in the world.
The Czech-language version of Airbnb was launched in 2012 but the first accommodation offer in Prague appeared as early as in 2008. Most of the accommodation offers are in Prague, followed by Liberec, Karlovy Vary and Brno.
