PHL capital No. 12 globally in Airbnb listings 

THE Philippine capital had the 12th most listed home-share dwellings in the world, Airbnb said, citing a study conducted by Inkifi, a photo printing company.

Citing Inkifi’s Global Airbnb Capitals 2022 survey, the Philippine capital had 15,521 listings. It was not clear whether the survey was referring to “Metro Manila” because the entry for the Philippines was listed simply as “Manila.”

Manila was ranked 13th the last time the survey was conducted in 2019, when it had 18,578 active rentals pre-pandemic.

The 2022 survey did not say how many destinations were studied. The 2019 survey examined 206 cities.

“The study differs slightly from our 2019 version as some cities were removed due to insufficient data being available, or due to ongoing conflicts. These cities were replaced by well-known and popular travel destinations,” Inkifi said.

According to the 2022 survey, London had the most Airbnb active rentals at 34,135 listings, followed by Paris with 24,940, New York City 22,586, Istanbul 21,625, and Shanghai 20,732.

“Since 2019, the number of active Airbnb rentals has fallen across the board, with the total number of listings for the top 10 destinations falling from 303,535 to 209,682, which is equal to a 30.92% drop. This clearly shows that the holiday rental market is still very much feeling the effects of the pandemic, and may take some time yet to fully recover,” Inkifi said.  

John Paolo R. Rivera, associate director at the Asian Institute of Management — Dr. Andrew L. Tan Center for Tourism, said the survey results show that the Philippine capital has the capacity to “handle an influx of tourists.”

However, Mr. Rivera noted that the fall in active rentals between surveys reflects subdued travel demand.

“The absolute value declined but relative capacity increased with respect to other areas. This can be due to (the) slow catching up of demand as occupancy is still limited. Not everyone has returned to Manila yet. Working from home is still prevalent,” Mr. Rivera said.

“More rentals are expected as workers return to Manila and as tourism recovers,” he added.

Pattaya, Thailand had the highest density of Airbnb listings at 79.25 active rentals per 1,000 residents in 2022, followed by Jeju, South Korea at 30.89, and Orlando, Florida at 29.21.

Inkifi found that Ankara had the cheapest average daily rate at the equivalent of 17.13 pounds sterling per night, followed by Bangalore at £19.26. and Kathmandu at £24.90.

Las Vegas was the most expensive Airbnb destination with a nightly rate equivalent to £186.33, followed by Miami at £184.74, and San Francisco at £183.14. — Revin Mikhael D. Ochave