Behind the sounds of the roaring crowds of spectators at the Paris 2024 Olympics are empty Airbnb rentals and half full stadiums. Prior to the games, some Parisian owners saw it as a golden opportunity to score jackpots, but now it seems to be turning into a fiasco.
Only 12 percent of flat rentals on platforms such as Airbnb are booked over the entire period of the Olympic Games. That’s according to an article from Le Parisien based on data provided by AirDNA, which specialises in statistical analysis of short-term rentals.
Meanwhile, almost 20 percent have not recorded any bookings at all.
Last May, the source indicated to BFM Business that the prices of these rentals were consistently decreasing as the event approached, a sign of an already significant imbalance between supply and demand.
However, with the opening of the Games, the flop seems to be confirmed. Of the 87,000 listings online for this Olympic Games period in Île-de-France, 43,500 – half of them – had an open calendar throughout the competition, claims Le Parisien.
“Only one in ten listings (12%, 5,220 listings) is fully booked during the Olympic Games. Conversely, nearly one in five (19%) has not recorded any reservations!” highlights the article, citing figures as of July 22.
The number of short-term rentals experienced an explosion in the lead up to the games – increasing from 55,000 last summer to over 120,000 listings for the Olympic Games period.
Astonishingly, according to Optirental – a firm specialising in tourism and still during this Olympic period – the median price of a Parisian apartment rental went from 724 euros (£609) to 248 euros (£208) per night between January 19 and July 19.
As of July 22, the firm estimated the number of rentals still available between 47 percent and 60 percent.
This is not, however, the only crisis Paris is facing during the Games. Sébastien Jibrayel, local councillor for sports in Marseille has proposed selling tickets at lower prices to combat the empty stands.
At the start of the Games, football matches were bringing very few people to the stadiums. On Sunday, the stands at the Stade Geoffroy-Guichard (Saint-Étienne) were only moderately full during the defeat of the French women’s team against Canada. Of the 42,000 seats available in the arena, only 25,000 were present.
To remedy this lack of interest, Jibrayel proposed to put tickets on sale at the price of 5 or 10 euros: “When we see an empty stadium, we are not satisfied. The price of tickets must drop further, perhaps to 10€ or even less. Why not 5€?,” he declared on RMC and La Provence. This price would only be offered 24 hours before the start of the match.
“We must be aware of the financial situation of citizens; in difficult times, it would be interesting to review the prices downwards so that everyone can participate in the party,” he said.
According to Le Figaro Sport, the proposal is on the table.