Airbnb’s growth in Iceland over the past years has been swift, with Icelandic Airbnb hosts making the highest profits in 2017 in the world. However, according to Statistics Iceland, booking rates dropped between July and September this year. These statistics are not only bound to Reykjavík as Airbnb booking rates have dropped in other parts of Iceland as well. Hotel occupancy, on the other hand, has increased during the same time period. This leads to the assumption that overnight stays have moved from the home-sharing company and to the hotels.

In the past two months, hotel occupancy increased proportionately to the number of tourists visiting Iceland in the same time period. Icelandairhotels’ occupancy rose from 90% to 93.7% in September, despite an increase in supply (Icelandairhotels increased their rooms from 24 thousand to 28 thousand). The chain of hotels, which is Iceland’s second largest, is now for sale. The sales process is expected to be completed at the start of next year.