Belgian listings on Airbnb double in year

In less than one year, the number of houses, rooms or apartments rented out via Airbnb by property owners in Belgium nearly doubled, from 5,500 to 10,000. That's according to new figures from the website Inside Airbnb, which sources data from publicly available information on the Airbnb site. About half of the Airbnb accommodations in Belgium are found in Brussels.

The online marketplace for holiday rentals is quickly becoming a strong competitor to both hotel chains and the rental market, according to De Standaard. If supply continues to follow the same trend, the site will eventually offer more rooms than the Belgian hotel sector's current 17,000 rooms.

One reason for the site's growing popularity is that many homeowners find they can earn more money on short rentals than in the ordinary rental market. But that could have long-term consequences for Belgium's rental market, according to De Standaard. The more rentals there are for tourists, the less there are available for regular tenants, and that can cause rental prices to skyrocket.