Airbnb agrees to share rental data with European Commission

Airbnb and other online accommodation platforms have agreed to share data on short-term rentals with the statistical office of the European Commission in a partnership they say will help countries formulate policy decisions.

Authorities will be able to access the independently-published data through Eurostat.

Shared data will include the number of guests using short-term rental platforms and the number of nights booked. Data will be shared on a quarterly basis and will allow public authorities to better understand the development of short-term rental platforms, and will support evidence-based policy decisions across Europe. Airbnb, Booking.com, Expedia Group, and Tripadvisor are included in the partnership.

“The agreement will for the first time permit access to reliable data about holiday and other short-stay accommodation offered via these collaborative economy platforms,” the European Commission said in an announcement.

“It will contribute to more complete statistics on tourist accommodation around Europe, allow public authorities to better understand the development of the collaborative economy and support evidence-based policies.”