Half of Americans are unlikely to use sharing economy services for 2018 summer travel

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RICHMOND, VA. – While Americans are growing more familiar with sharing economy services, the intention to use these services is declining in favor of more traditional services. According to the fourth annual Allianz Travel Insurance Sharing Economy Index* released by Allianz Global Assistance, 53 percent of Americans declared they are either “not very likely” or “not at all likely” to use sharing economy services during their 2018 summer travels.

That’s despite Americans’ consistent belief that sharing economy services offer a more authentic local experience and better value for their money. Sixty two percent of Americans find sharing economy service providers to be “very” or “somewhat trustworthy,” down three percent from last year. Today eight in 10 Americans are familiar with at least one sharing economy service, with familiarity of services strongest among younger generations.

Comparison of Americans’ Likeliness to Use and Familiarity of Sharing Economy Services
	2015	2016	2017	2018
Familiarity	47 %	66 %	78 %	83 %
Likely to use	17 %	36 %	50 %	47 %

Leading the sharing economy trend, an overwhelming 93 percent of Millennials (ages 18-34) are familiar with sharing economy services. Boomers (ages 55+) have experienced the largest increase in familiarity over the past few years, with 70 percent of the group familiar with at least one of these services in 2018, up from 57 percent in 2017 and 49 percent in 2016. Of Gen X’ers (ages 35-54), 88 percent are familiar in 2018.

Analyzing specific sharing economy services across age demographics, recognition of Uber, Airbnb and HomeAway has remained steady over the past year, while familiarity with Lyft has increased significantly by 10 percent since 2017.

Looking at trust, three out of four (76 percent) Millennials and those earning over $50,000 (67 percent) are most likely to trust sharing economy services, compared to seven in ten (68 percent) of Gen X’ers, almost half (46 percent) of Baby Boomers and less than six in ten (54 percent) of Americans making less than $50,000.

This year, Americans are likely to rate traditional services as superior to sharing economy services, with traditional services seen as offering the better product, booking experience, customer support when things go wrong and overall experience.

Despite the propensity of Millennials to use sharing economy services, one-third (33 percent) believe traditional services provide the best overall experience, up from 22 percent in 2017. It was also revealed they believe traditional services offer better customer support when things go wrong (38 percent). A quarter (26 percent) of Millennials say traditional services offer a better-quality product.

Comparison of Americans’ Preference of Service For Better Experience
	Sharing Economy Services				Traditional Services				Both the Same
	’15	’16	’17	’18	’15	’16	’17	’18	’15	’16	’17	’18
Better quality product	8 %	9 %	15 %	12 %	41 %	31 %	35 %	33 %	37 %	27 %	31 %	35 %
More authentic local experience	12 %	22 %	33 %	27 %	35 %	19 %	22 %	22 %	37 %	26 %	26 %	31 %
Better value for money	17 %	26 %	35 %	32 %	32 %	18 %	19 %	20 %	36 %	23 %	26 %	27 %
Better booking experience	9 %	9 %	17 %	13 %	39 %	31 %	33 %	35 %	36 %	27 %	31 %	33 %
Better customer support when things go wrong	6 %	7 %	9 %	10 %	48 %	40 %	47 %	44 %	30 %	21 %	24 %	27 %
Best overall experience	9 %	11 %	17 %	14 %	44 %	25 %	30 %	29 %	34 %	30 %	31 %	34 %

Leading the sharing economy trend, an overwhelming 93 percent of Millennials (ages 18-34) are familiar with sharing economy services. Boomers (ages 55+) have experienced the largest increase in familiarity over the past few years, with 70 percent of the group familiar with at least one of these services in 2018, up from 57 percent in 2017 and 49 percent in 2016. Of Gen X’ers (ages 35-54), 88 percent are familiar in 2018.

Analyzing specific sharing economy services across age demographics, recognition of Uber, Airbnb and HomeAway has remained steady over the past year, while familiarity with Lyft has increased significantly by 10 percent since 2017.

Looking at trust, three out of four (76 percent) Millennials and those earning over $50,000 (67 percent) are most likely to trust sharing economy services, compared to seven in ten (68 percent) of Gen X’ers, almost half (46 percent) of Baby Boomers and less than six in ten (54 percent) of Americans making less than $50,000.

This year, Americans are likely to rate traditional services as superior to sharing economy services, with traditional services seen as offering the better product, booking experience, customer support when things go wrong and overall experience.

Despite the propensity of Millennials to use sharing economy services, one-third (33 percent) believe traditional services provide the best overall experience, up from 22 percent in 2017. It was also revealed they believe traditional services offer better customer support when things go wrong (38 percent). A quarter (26 percent) of Millennials say traditional services offer a better-quality product.

“This is the first time we’ve seen intent to use sharing economy services decline, particularly among millennials, which is surprising as they led its early adoption,” said Daniel Durazo, director of communications at Allianz Global Assistance. “Millennials appreciate the value and authentic local experiences that are offered by sharing economy services, while they also like the product and overall experience offered by traditional services. Travel suppliers vying for the millennial market this year should capitalize on their strengths and try to shore up their weaknesses.”

The Allianz Travel Insurance Sharing Economy Index also gauged Americans’ awareness of co-living and co-working spaces, a new addition to the survey this year. Men lead the curve in knowledge of this latest type of service, with 22 percent of men familiar with co-working spaces, versus 12 percent of women. The same percentage of men (22 percent) are familiar with co-living spaces, compared to 10 percent of women.

The Sharing Economy Index has been conducted each summer since 2015 by national polling firm Ipsos Public Affairs on behalf of Allianz Global Assistance.

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