Opinion | Will coronavirus pandemic end the Airbnb economy and overtourism, allowing rental economies in tourist hotspots to recover?

The days when cities and attractions were crushed under the weight of overtourism seem a distant memory

They are all empty now, but what will happen to short-term rentals when the pandemic is over? And would anyone pine for the Airbnb economy if it doesn’t return?

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Venice’s normally busy streets and canals have been empty during the coronavirus lockdown. It remains to be seen how tourism recovers from the crisis, and whether short-term holiday rental properties such as those advertised by Airbnb will still be as popular. Photo: Shutterstock

Published: 8:15pm, 6 Apr 2020Updated: 8:15pm, 6 Apr 2020

Until recently, Airbnb encapsulated the first-world problems of living in a global “superstar” city.

Over the past decade, the app that connects fly-by-night tourists and short-term renters to “cosy” lofts and five-star “experiences” morphed into a gig-economy nightmare for cities like Paris, Amsterdam and Barcelona.

Booming demand fuelled an oversupply of tourists, an undersupply of housing for locals and extra strain on public infrastructure. Scammers and fraudsters prospered. Many cities began a clampdown.

That all seems like ancient history now.

If you could freely walk the world’s most famous city streets today, you would see humanity stopped in its tracks. National lockdowns and global travel bans have emptied bustling hotspots like Sydney’s Opera House, Bangkok’s night markets, the Louvre Museum in Paris and the Colosseum in Rome.

Global tourist traps are being slammed shut, and the ecosystem that sprang up around them is falling apart – including Airbnb. Flats once reserved for well-heeled tourists have seen bookings slump anywhere from 41 per cent to 96 per cent. They’re now on long-term rental sites or offered to health workers in solidarity.