Europe, a continent known for its historical treasures, cultural diversity, and breathtaking landscapes, has been a perennial favorite of travelers from around the world. The allure of European cities, from the romantic streets of Paris to the ancient marvels of Rome, is undeniable. And when it comes to accommodation, Airbnb is the bridge that connects explorers to unique experiences. But what if we told you that Airbnb is more than just a way to enjoy the beauty of these cities? It’s also a pivotal player in their economies.
As a traveler, you’ve likely experienced the comfort and convenience that Airbnb accommodations offer. However, behind each charming property, there’s a fascinating story of economic significance. In this blog post, we embark on a dual journey through Europe: one that explores the business side of Airbnb and one that explores the leisure side. The key to this insight? Power BI dashboards.
Join us as we explore European cities, not only as travelers but also as data enthusiasts, diving into each city to understand and unravel the hidden insights behind Airbnb listings. We’ll delve into intriguing patterns, popular neighborhoods, and pricing trends. The cities we will focus on are: Amsterdam, Athens, Barcelona, Budapest, Paris, Rome, and Vienna, located on the map below.
To summarize the distribution of our Airbnb listings, the table below gives you an idea of their distributions. In total, we have 16745 listings, with their most occurrences being in Rome, one of the most popular tourist destinations in the world! Additionally, we can notice that Athens on average is the cheapest city we offer listings in while Amsterdam is the most expensive, so whatever your economic status is we have you covered! Also, if you are looking for renting in the weekend, all cities in Europe have an almost equal number of listings for weekdays or weekends.
We understand that not all people who look for Airbnb apartments have a vacation planned, and some may be looking for an apartment to sleep in after a long day of business meetings. Luckily, we offer such apartments. To demonstrate the features and insights behind these listings, we will take Rome as an example. The figures below show a comparison between non-business (No) and business-related apartments (Yes). In Rome, roughly 33% of the listings we have are business-related.
On average, business-related listings are almost 1 km closer to the city center, and 100 meters closer to a metro station, so keep that in mind when searching for an apartment. People usually think that apartments used for business trips tend to be more expensive than regular one, but plotting the distribution of price by business category rejects this claim, as both types of listings have similar price distributions in euros with the bulk being less than 250€ in Rome.
By plotting the listings in our database on a map of Rome and respecting the color code for both types of apartments, we notice that business-related apartments are clustered closer to the city center, unlike the others colored in red, that are more widespread in the outskirts of the city.
Now that we have delved into the business category of Airbnb apartments in European cities, let’s shift our focus to the leisure side of things. As travelers, we understand the importance of not just where we stay, but also the kind of accommodation that best suits our needs. European cities offer a wide array of options, and Airbnb, as always, provides a range of choices.
From whole houses that promise an exclusive and intimate experience to private rooms that offer a blend of privacy and local interaction, and even shared rooms for those seeking a communal vibe, European cities offer them all. Each type of Airbnb accommodation has its unique charm and caters to different tastes and budgets.
We shift our focus from Rome to Barcelona, a city known for its vibrant architecture and nightlife. For the listings we provide in Barcelona, only 8.01% represent an entire home or apartment, with the rest being a smaller private room. So if you are planning to travel as a group and rent the same apartment, Barcelona may not be suitable for you with its higher number of private rooms instead of apartments.
Now let’s look at the statistics behind the leisure apartments of Barcelona. Of course, you can’t rent a vacation apartment without checking the reviews and the ratings first. One of the most important factors that affect our decision is the guest satisfaction. The radar chart and table below show that for whatever person capacity you choose, the guest satisfaction rate is the same, with the lowest being 91.99 out of 100 for a person capacity of 2, with an excellent average guest satisfaction rate of 92.07. Barcelona, however, mostly has listings with 1 bedroom. The 1911 leisure listings of the city have an average number of bedrooms of 1.08, which proves that the city may not be the perfect destination for traveling in a group. If you plan on visiting it nonetheless, you will be more than rewarded with its vast tourist hotspots and the cleanliness of its apartments, with an average cleanliness rating of 9.32 out of 10!
Another issue most travelers face is the time and energy spent walking from the apartment/hotel to the city center and busy markets. Therefore turn our attention to this crucial factor that often influences a traveler’s choice—proximity to city amenities and public transportation. Our Power BI dashboard reveals an insightful scatterplot that maps the relationship between the distance of Airbnb properties to the city center and their proximity to the city’s efficient metro system. This visual representation sheds light on an essential consideration for travelers, offering a clear view of how location impacts the Barcelona experience. As we can notice, the vast majority of Airbnb listings are less than 2 km away from the nearest metro station. Even if you take a room that is almost 5 km away from the city center, you won’t worry about transportation because you are 100% likely to be 1 or 2 km away from a metro.
Despite the low number of listings with a person capacity of 6, the choices are still out of this world! Most of these listings have a unique feature identifying them, either they are in the waterfront, in the city center, on a hill or near tourist destinations. The most expensive one being on the waterfront with a price of 2591€/day (highlighted in blue on the map) with a distance of 0.65 km from the nearest metro station and 1.64 km from the city center.
In this detailed exploration of Airbnb accommodations in European cities, we’ve uncovered two key aspects: business and leisure apartments, with a special focus on Rome and Barcelona. Power BI dashboards and data-driven insights have unveiled valuable information for all types of travelers.
For business travelers, we’ve highlighted the unique features of business-related apartments in Rome, emphasizing their strategic proximity to the city center and metro stations. These accommodations, surprisingly, have similar pricing distributions to leisure properties.
Shifting our focus to leisure apartments, we’ve showcased the diverse array of options available across European cities, with a particular emphasis on Barcelona, where private rooms dominate the offerings.
We’ve also provided insights into guest satisfaction, cleanliness ratings, and the convenience of proximity to city amenities and public transportation in Barcelona. Whether you’re a professional seeking the perfect balance or a leisure traveler, this blog post serves as your comprehensive guide to Airbnb options in European cities. We’ve used data, visuals, and insights to help you make informed choices in the world of European Airbnb accommodations.
