The pandemic has permanently altered global travel, Airbnb’s chief executive Brian Chesky suggested yesterday.
"People are discovering that they don’t have to be tethered to one location to live and work,” he told investors during the company's first quarter earnings call. He added that the company had seen a shift towards more expensive bookings: more trips that included entire families, more bookings of entire homes, and more non-urban destinations, according to the FT report.
This is already being felt in the holiday homes market, and the data we're seeing indicates purchasing activity is likely to rise in tandem with the easing of travel restrictions. Viewings of Portuguese properties via Knight Frank’s website, for example, increased 18% in April compared to the previous month, ahead of that travel corridor opening up.
Inventory may be low at the moment, but there are still beautiful homes available in Southampton, Sag Harbor, Sagaponack, Bridgehampton and East Hampton and the short-term rental income opportunity on these homes has sky-rocketed in recent years.