Interest in sharing economy growing
A new survey by travel insurer Allianz Global Assistance has found that half of US travellers are likely to use sharing economy services when on holiday this year. According to Allianz’s previous surveys, this represents a significant increase on the 17 per cent that said they would use services like Airbnb, Uber and Lyft in 2015.
The uptake in these services by consumers has coincided with an increase in familiarity with them. Over half of consumers are familiar with Airbnb, a significant increase compared to the 36 per cent that were familiar in 2017. Both Uber and Lyft have seen a large increase in familiarity, with Uber being familiar to 73 per cent of US travellers.
Despite this increase in use, Americans still do not completely trust sharing economy services, with only 17 per cent saying that they fully trust them, with one-third of US travellers being put off by negative news stories. Just under half responded that sharing economy services are ‘somewhat trustworthy’, however.
“In the years that we’ve conducted the Sharing Economy Index, it has been incredible to see the significant growth in familiarity and use of sharing economy services for summer travel,” said Daniel Durazo, director of communications at Allianz Global Assistance USA. “We’re seeing more and more travellers, especially millennials, utilising services like Airbnb because they are seeking value and a locally authentic experience.”