Durban - Since mid June, nearly 300 000 people have checked into homes, booked online, in cities all across Russia - this is four times more compared with the same period last year. This was revealed by online marketplace and hospitality service provider, Airbnb.
According to their research, 76% of the guests hailed from the US, Mexico, Colombia, Argentina, Brazil, Australia, the UK, France, Germany and Peru.
Airbnb stated that their data numbers show which were the most confident about their team winning all along. Devastated fans of the Three Lions made the most bookings for the final weekend, proving that the Brits are the most die-hard and loyal soccer fans. Admirers of the French team were not far behind, with fans who stayed in homes booked through the Airbnb platform taking the majority of seats during this past Sunday’s match. Similarly, optimistic travellers from Germany, South Korea, Brazil, Argentina and Mexico also booked accommodation for 15 July.
“Despite the fact that the Italians, the Dutch or the Americans did not qualify, nothing could stop them buying tickets for matches. There have been over 54 000 guest arrivals from the US, 1 200 guest arrivals from Italy and over 1 000 guest arrivals from the Netherlands to Russia during the four-week period,” the service provider said.
Following Russia’s surprisingly good performance in the group phase, over 38 000 domestic guests decided to book an Airbnb-listed home while the tournament was already in full swing. Among other countries who booked a last-minute stay in Russia were the US, Mexico, Argentina and Colombia.