Summer 2021, for Airbnb is rural, longer and in the family

 ROME, MAY 24 Boom of long-term stays. The return of the family holiday. And a great passion for the small and rural. According to the American hospitality giant Airbnb, these are the travel trends for summer 2021, the first (almost) post-pandemic, on which the platform is also remodeled with over 100 new features, both for customers and for host, and a new agreement with the Italian Touring Club. "There is optimism - explains the co-founder and CEO of Airbnb, Brian Chesk -. There are more and more vaccinated, people want to be connected, we return to travel. I am convinced that in the coming months in terms of travel we will see more great rebound of the century ". But above all, the last 12 months have triggered or, however accelerated,some substantial changes in travelers' wishes and possibilities. Today, says the CEO, "people have the opportunity to travel at any time, visit more places, stay longer. The boundaries between traveling, living and working are increasingly blurred". In short, the keyword is "flexibility", which on the platform also translates into the dates and destinations of reservations and even the type of accommodation with the new Flexible Matching (as well as a new 10-step process to become a host). But what will next summer be like? According to the Airbnb Travel & Living report 2021, the analysis based on booking data and market research (Airbnb has 4 million hosts in over 220 countries with more than 900 million arrivals) is the rural tourism to be the master ,registering constant growth over the last five years and passing, globally, from 10% of nights booked in 2015 to 22% in 2021. In Italy, the country of villages scattered on the hills of every region, the surge is even since 21% in 2019 to 37% this year. In terms of summer, if before the most common trip on Airbnb was for 1 or 2 people to big cities, for 2021 the most booked stay sees the family at the center, moving from the big city to a destination smaller, with requests for housing from 5 people upwards globally increased from 35% in summer 2019 to 54% in 2021 and from 33% to 53% in Italy. So much so that if in the summer of 2019 the first Airbnb destination in Italy was Rome, for 2021 it is Sardinia.The greater flexibility in work then made it more possible to travel anywhere and at any time, but the real key to reconciling travel and daily life seems to be in long-term stays (at least 28 days), with a percentage almost doubled from 2019 to 2021 ( from 14% to 24% of nights booked in the first four months, since it rises to 28% for Italy). Not surprisingly, Airbnb also announces a new collaboration with the Italian Touring Club for the enhancement of the 252 villages certified with the Orange Flag. The aim is to raise awareness of the platform's potential there as well, illustrating the opportunity to share accommodation and offer experiences, with Tci also a partner of the Rural Bootcamp, Airbnb's international initiative to help communities in rural areas to attract sustainable tourism flows."73% of Italians told us that after the end of the pandemic they will want to continue traveling to more remote and less traveled locations - explains the Country Manager of Airbnb Italy, Giacomo Trova - And we have seen an increase in the supply of accommodation in the non-urban areas in the first quarter of 2021 by 30% compared to the same period of 2019 ". According to Airbnb data, then, a break in the mountains or in the countryside would be ideal for 28% of Italians and 30% of respondents would pay up to 10% more for 'green' accommodation. "The partnership with Airbnb - adds Giulio Lattanzi, General Manager of Touring Club Italiano - allows us to keep the spotlight on those centers we care for, promoting them for over twenty years thanks to the certification program.so that they can reveal their excellence ".-