Airbnb surge triggers Canterbury research

New research could help Christchurch’s tourist industry handle the Airbnb phenomenon after the provider’s bed numbers almost doubled in a year.

ChristchurchNZ figures show Airbnb options in the city jumped from about 1100 to 2000 in the year to September, and have now stabilised at about 2400.

This represents 21 per cent of the city’s

In response, ChristchurchNZ has joined forces with Canterbury University to study to investigate the economic, social and environmental effects of Airbnb, a global online peer-to-peer accommodation service.

Girish Prayag, an associate professor at the university’s management, marketing and entrepreneurship department, said the research should help the industry in the region respond to available accommodation. Airbnb. He will conduct the research with fellow associate professor Lucie Ozanne.

Prayag said their findings would be meaningful for Canterbury councils, and also for other parts of the country.

A report from Deloitte, released in May, showed Airbnb contributed $660 million to the New Zealand economy last year with 578,000 stays booked over 1.5 million nights.

About two-thirds of the bookings were made by overseas visitors, with Australians the biggest offshore users of New Zealand Airbnb accommodation.

ChristchurchNZ senior economist Peter Fieger said there was a ‘‘clear need’’ for the tourism industry to better understand Airbnb and similar services, as the South Island’s formal accommodation market changed.

The university researchers will interview accommodation providers, including Airbnb hosts, in Canterbury. ChristchurchNZ will analyse the data for Canterbury and other regions, and map them with formal accommodation information.

The research is expected to be completed in December.

Statistics New Zealand statistics also reveal a jump in the numbers of visitors staying in commercial accommodation in Canterbury.

During 2017 guests spent

3,775,000 nights in hotels, motels, backpacker lodges and holiday parks – an 11 per cent jump from

2017.