Rooms on the Market: Global Vacancy by Category
Every night, more than 27 million guest spaces are available across hotels, Airbnbs, hostels, and cruise ships. That’s roughly one for every 300 people on Earth, underscoring just how embedded travel has become in the global economy, lifestyle, and housing systems.
TAKEAWAYS
- Short-term rentals now rival traditional hospitality. Airbnb alone makes up nearly 30% of the global bed market, and two-thirds of its listings are full homes—highlighting the platform’s shift from room-sharing to full-fledged accommodation provider.
- The budget and backpacker tier is no small niche. With over 1.2 million hostel beds, the informal, youth-driven sector offers more capacity than the entire global cruise industry.
THE DATA
- Hotel rooms include all classes, from luxury to economy, as counted in STR’s global inventory (2025).
- Airbnb figures reflect active listings (not nightly availability), and mix full homes, private rooms, and shared options based on Inside Airbnb’s room-type analysis.
- Hostel beds represent dorm-style sleeping capacity from Hostelworld’s public filings.
- Cruise berths are lower-bed counts (i.e., what’s actually slept in) from the CLIA fleet.
- Total capacity figures are rounded and approximate; occupancy rates are not reflected.
RELATED
🔑 Marriott, Hilton, and Jin Jiang together manage over 3.5 million hotel rooms—one-fifth of the global supply.
🏠 19% of all Airbnb nights are now stays of 28+ days, reflecting the rise of nomadic or hybrid remote work lifestyles.
🛏️ The average nightly Airbnb rate globally is $173, slightly higher than hotels at $154, and more than triple the average hostel bed.
🚢 Cruise lines operate with some of the highest occupancy rates in hospitality, often 85–90% full even outside peak seasons.
🧳 There were 4.8 billion airline passengers in 2024, meaning nearly two-thirds of the planet boarded a commercial flight in a single year.