Malaysia is witnessing a boom in Airbnb rentals with 18,000 properties listed on the rental service’s website.
Robin Kwok, manager of Airbnb Southeast Asia, Hong Kong and Taiwan, said the number of choices available was projected to triple by 2020 – based on feedback received from local interested parties, existing hosts and guests.
“The interesting part is that we also look across the world to determine what the top trending neighbourhoods are in a country.
“These are neighbourhoods that people are looking for and these are the places they want to stay in,” Kwok was quoted as saying by The Star Online.
According to Airbnb, trends show tourists are not just staying in major urban centres like Kuala Lumpur and Penang, where rental has been stable, but are also going to Ipoh, Cameron Highlands, Port Dickson, Lumut, among others.
“We saw a 1,000 per cent growth in Lumut and it is a huge displacement. People are searching for something new because they want to explore the uniqueness of each locale,” she said.
