Nomadism is one of those tendencies that are gradually emerging. If it cannot be described as a mainstream trend, it has attracted more and more people over the years. To get away from a sedentary lifestyle and get closer to adventure and travel, many “modern nomads” are turning to airbnb rentals to keep all the comforts in their new daily lives. This way of life and rental, although marginal, nevertheless marks the airbnb rental statistics.
Modern nomads: a new audience for Airbnb rentals?
The health crisis we are experiencing has greatly changed our daily habits. Among these, our way of working has been greatly impacted, placing telework at the center of habits when possible. Remote work has thus brought a small breath of freedom and renewal to many workers, satisfied with the ease with which they can set up their workstations in multiple locations. The possibility of working anywhere, subject to a good connection and a minimum of comfort, has opened up the field of possibilities for many people, thereby creating a certain form of nomadism.
This trend due to Covid also echoes the digitization of companies and professions, in particular those known as Digital Nomads or Digital Nomads in French. Digital nomadism is also a growing current, present in France, whose principle is simple: work while traveling. A daily life punctuated by ephemeral offices, train stations and airports, the discovery of new languages and cultures... which has attracted many people wishing to favor daily adventure over the comfort of a sedentary lifestyle.
Whether it's nomadic professionals such as digital nomads or curious people experimenting with nomadism through teleworking, we can only see how airbnb comes to provide a ready-made solution to one of the biggest problems of nomads: housing. By offering thousands of accommodations that are quickly accessible around the world, Airbnb and its easy rental mode offers a suitable and flexible enough solution to adapt to the daily lives of modern nomads.
Nomadism and Airbnb: the beginnings of a new trend
We no longer count the testimonies and social groups dedicated to digital nomads, just as we see more and more testimonies of people far from this lifestyle making the temporary choice to adopt it. What about numbers? Airbnb provides us with answers by sharing evocative figures regarding the growing trend of nomadism:
- 1 night out of 5: from the 3rd quarter of 2021 concerned a stay of 28 days or more
- 100 travellers: we booked stays of 000 days or more over a rolling year in Sept. 90
- 300 candidates: in the program allowing them to live a nomadic life thanks to Airbnb for 000 year
In view of these figures, a first observation appears: Airbnb perceives nomadism as a behavior aimed at booking longer stays than usual. This is easily understood: we no longer only book stays for holidays or holidays, but also to create a new life experience and discover daily life in a city other than our own. Freed from the constraint of the office where you absolutely have to go on a daily basis, experiencing living elsewhere for 1 month, 2 months, 3 months or even more becomes possible. An opportunity which, as we can see thanks to Airbnb data, is increasingly seized by travelers.
Since the democratization of rental on the Airbnb model, there have always been travelers more in search of a new life experience than “vacation” as such. But it is true that it is a behavior that we see more and more over the years. To date, in my airbnb concierge services, I mainly welcome those who are called digital nomads. These are often independent workers, men or women, taking advantage of the freedom offered by their profession to move around and discover new cities.
Christine
Director of airbnb concierge service in Soulac-sur-Mer
Rent accommodation on Airbnb to better immerse yourself:
The impact of nomadism on Airbnb rentals is therefore obvious. We no longer book accommodation for short stays but to offer ourselves an immersive life experience in an unknown place over a largely extended period of time. The rental period of a property is therefore lengthened accordingly and sometimes comes to an in-between between short-term rental and long-term rental for the residential sector. An opportunity for owners to see their daily management facilitated while benefiting from better rental income since they charge seasonal and non-residential rates.
Airbnb completes its data on this subject:
- Long-term family bookings increased by 75% between 2019 and 2021
- The number of travelers choosing long-term rental to experience nomadism increases from 9% to 12% between 2019 and 2021
- Medium-sized cities are preferred: in the 3rd quarter of 2021, one in two overnight stays concerned a medium-sized city.
- In 2022, Limoges (130 inhabitants) is one of the cities whose search rate increases the most for long stays on Airbnb.
