New figures have revealed that Australian travellers are abandoning peer-to-peer (P2P) stays and gravitating back to big hotels – more than travellers in Europe, the United States and Canada.
The research was commissioned by a leading global assistance company, Europ Assistance, the parent company of award-winning Australian travel insurance provider Insure&Go. The findings were derived from the Europ Assistance 2024 Holiday Barometer, an annual global survey of 21,000 respondents from 21 countries, designed to uncover travel trends. Australia was included in the research for the second consecutive year – with a panel of 1,000 respondents from Australia taking part in the survey.
The study provided a range of accommodation options and examined the driving forces behind those choices, including affordability, safety, familiarity, services and amenities, environmentally friendly accommodation and reliability.
The results revealed that almost 6 out of 10 Australian respondents (59%) will now choose a hotel for their next trip, compared with 50 per cent of Europeans and 53 per cent of North American respondents.
On the other end of the spectrum, Australians largely shied away from P2P stays, with just 24 per cent saying they would opt for these types of holiday rents – a figure that was lower than among European respondents (at 31%) and North Americans (at 27%).
Hotels with less than 20 rooms are also an unpopular option – with less than a quarter of all respondents from across the three continents choosing the accommodation type. Just 23 per cent of Australians, 20 per cent of North Americans and 24 per cent of Europeans plan on a small hotel stay.
Just 24 per cent of Australians will opt for free accommodation at a friend or family’s place, and a mere 10 per cent would consider camping or road trips in a campervan.
The Europ Assistance survey results show better bang for the buck and reliability are fuelling the Australian travel accommodation trend, with more than 2 out of 5 Aussies (42%) saying both affordability and reliability drive their trip stay choices.
For Europeans, affordability is less of a concern, at 32 per cent, with reliability ranking even lower on accommodation choices at 28 per cent. For 40 per cent of North Americans, affordability is a factor with just 35 per cent prioritising reliability.
Safety also ranks higher for Australians, with 31 per cent saying they value safe or well-protected accommodation, compared with 19 per cent of Europeans and 28 per cent of North Americans.
The figures emerge amid a backlash against P2P accommodation across the nation1, spurred by price hikes and fears such short-term stays have fuelled Australia’s rental crisis. As a result, a short-term stay levy is being introduced, with Victoria being the first State to officially roll out the 7.5 per cent Short Stay Levy.2
Insure&Go Chief Commercial Officer Jonathan Etkind says, “With affordability, reliability and safety reigning supreme for Australians, the travel trend towards bigger hotels will continue to grow, especially given the introduction of the Short Stay Levy.
“That levy, combined with sometimes expensive additions such as cleaning and administration fees, is clearly causing budget-conscious Australian travellers to shy away from apartment and house rentals – especially given safety and amenity inclusions are another major consideration.
“Our survey found that 31 per cent of Australians value services and amenities, which big hotels tend to be very good at providing. A busy family on holidays will appreciate a downstairs café with breakfast and lunch menus; couples and singles would appreciate access to a well-equipped gym and spa facilities; businesspeople taking combined business and leisure trips would also appreciate business amenities and room service.”
In Europe, where there’s far greater population density and a glut of short-stay accommodation on offer Jonathan says travellers may see vacation rentals and apartments more favourably, particularly considering travel distances between tourist sites and cities are typically far shorter.
“With just over a third saying they would choose an apartment or house rental for their next trip, Europeans are the most in favour of this accommodation and this speaks volumes to availability, accessibility and perhaps even cost,” he says.
The full report can be found here.
| Regarding your accommodations during your next [summer trip/trip] in 2024, do you mostly intend to: (multiple choice) | Australia | Europe | North America |
| Book in a large hotel (with more than 20 rooms) | 44% | 33% | 41% |
| Book in a small hotel (with less than 20 rooms) | 23% | 24% | 20% |
| Hotel (in total) | 59% | 50% | 53% |
| Stay in a vacation rental (apartment/house) | 24% | 31% | 27% |
| Stay at a bed and breakfast | 14% | 16% | 14% |
| Stay for free at a friend’s place, at my family’s or at my holiday home | 24% | 17% | 26% |
| Go on a boat/a cruise | 9% | 5% | 11% |
| Go camping at a campsite | 10% | 10% | 19% |
| Go on a road trip in a camper van/caravan | 10% | 5% | 8% |
| Do a house exchange | 2% | 3% | 4% |
| Other | 3% | 3% | 3% |
| Why will you choose this mode of accommodation? Is it because: (multiple choice) | Australia | Europe | North America |
| It is more affordable for me | 42% | 32% | 40% |
| It’s a safe / well-protected accommodation | 31% | 19% | 28% |
| I am used to taking this mode of accommodation | 33% | 34% | 33% |
| For all the services and activities proposed | 23% | 20% | 22% |
| It is more environmentally friendly | 9% | 8% | 11% |
| It is my favourite mode of accommodation | 28% | 38% | 32% |
| It’s a reliable type of accommodation | 42% | 28% | 35% |
| Other | 4% | 2% | 2% |
| None of these | 0% | 1% | 2% |
