Sharing is caring: Airbnb wants half of London homes to be rentable through its platform
Airbnb wants to help open up more front doors across London, with one of its senior staffers stating today he hopes half the homes in the Capital will be rentable on the platform in the future.
However, Olivier Gremillon, managing director for EMEA for Airbnb, also told the audience at the Institute of Directors annual convention that this rather lofty goal would still take the startup "quite some time" to achieve, as it would require a "change in mindset" for homeowners.
But, he added, "the perception's changing", noting his firm, which currently has around 50,000 listings in London, was working hard at "creating this trust between people who don't know each other".
An Airbnb spokesperson later added: "These comments were made during a discussion about Londoners sharing homes when travelling and on holiday. We want to work with everyone in London to promote responsible home sharing and help make communities stronger."
Read more: Landlords body: Housing crisis may be fuelled by long-term Airbnb letting
The sharing economy mainstay has been giving established hotels a run for their money in recent years, so much so that Airbnb's valuation now eclipses that of hospitality giant Marriott.
"It seems we are doing a few things right," Gremillon stated of this piece of trivia.
The regional managing director also noted his firm had not seen any major adverse effects from the Brexit vote, partly because of the company's multinational reach and partly because "people are still going on vacation".