Popularity of Airbnb, Uber surges among American summer travelers
The popularity of sharing economy businesses like Airbnb and Uber continues to grow, with twice as many Americans saying they plan to use such services this summer, compared to last summer.
That was one of the findings of an online survey of more than 2,000 Americans by Allianz Global Assistance, a Virginia-based firm that specializes in travel insurance.
In its first year-over-year survey on the sharing economy, the survey found that 36% of Americans said they planned to use businesses like Airbnb and Uber during their summer vacations, up from 17% who said last year they likely would use the services.
As expected, millennials were most likely to use sharing economy businesses, with 65% saying they would rely on Airbnb, Uber and others this summer, up 37 percentage points from last summer, according to the survey.
The reason for the spike in use is an increase in familiarity and trust in the services. The survey found that 66% of Americans are familiar with the sharing economy businesses, up from 47% last year, while 48% of Americans say they trust the businesses, up from 44% last year.
“There was already significant growth in use, familiarity and trust in the sharing economy over the last year, showing that these services are not a fad and have great potential for longevity,” said Daniel Durazo, an Allianz spokesman.
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