Aussies are searching for NZ BnBs at four times the rate they were a month ago: Mountain Tiny House Warburton, Victoria. Photo / Supplied
Aussies are searching for NZ BnBs at four times the rate they were a month ago: Mountain Tiny House Warburton, Victoria. Photo / Supplied
The quarantine-free travel zone between Australia and New Zealand is almost a month old.
Since April 19, families and friends have been able to freely able to fly between the two countries with little disruption and many predict demand will only grow with confidence.
While a lot of attention has been given to air travel, one lettings company has been looking at a different kind of transtasman traffic: web searches.
Since 6 April, Airbnb searches by Australian holiday planners looking at Kiwi baches have quadrupled.
Driving this demand are tourism favourites such as Queenstown, which saw by seven times as many searches by Australian ski fiends and Airbnb hunters since the opening of the bubble. While the adventure capital was number one on Australians' wish lists, the top five were rounded out by urban hubs Auckland, Christchurch and Wellington and searches for relaxed, Kiwi baches in Northland.
Airbnb: Bhodi Treehouse in Byron Bay. Photo / Supplied
Kiwi searches in the opposite direction have also bounced back, though to a more modest extent.
Searches for Australian Airbnbs by New Zealanders is now 150 per cent higher than it was a month ago.
Number one on the wish list was Sydney, with the NSW city seeing three times as many searches since the bubble opened. This was followed closely by 'second city' Melbourne and sunny Queensland dominated the rest of the top five, with the Gold Coast, Brisbane and Sunshine Coast.
A new addition to the top 10 was Hobart, with the arrival of direct Tasmania air links fueling Kiwis' curiosity.
The Barn - Hobart, Tasmania is one of Airbnb's most wishlisted Aussie properties. Photo / Supplied
This search data has backed up the early quarantine-free flight numbers on both sides of the Ditch.
In April, TIA chief executive Chris Roberts reported that in the first week of a travel bubble there had been 30,000 arrivals versus 20,000 departures at New Zealand airports. While this represents just 20 per cent of the yearly average for April.
"While we may be rivals on the cricket pitch and rugby field, there's clearly no hesitation when it comes to exploring each other's backyards," said Susan Wheeldon, New Zealand and Australia country manager for Airbnb.
While Airbnb is currently tracking transtasman searches with interest, New Zealanders (and some Australians) are already looking for self-catered holiday on the Cook Islands, ahead of its own safe-travel bubble next week.
City Break: The Scientist Studio - Melbourne, Victoria is Airbnb's most wishlisted property in Australia. Photo / Supplied
However, the Cook Island's Tourism Industry Council say there may not be the same choice of accommodation that there was before the travel shutdown. With many rooms coming off Airbnb.
"There have been a few homes that were renting short term that have moved to long term," said Liana Scott, president of the Cook Islands TIC. "These therefore would come out of the market pool until perhaps next year. Unfortunately they just could not hold on any longer and had financial obligations that needed to be met."
Wheeldon said Airbnb hosts will be "looking forward to rolling out their welcome mats and helping to bring valuable tourism dollars to businesses throughout the Cook Islands."
New Zealand's top 10 Australian searches Queenstown Auckland Christchurch Wellington Northland Bay of Plenty Hamilton Twizel Rotorua Nelson Taupo
Where Australians are looking for a room Sydney Melbourne Gold Coast Brisbane Sunshine Coast Perth Byron Bay Cairns Adelaide Hobart
What are Aussies looking for in a Kiwi BnB? Mountain Tiny House - Warburton, Victoria. Photo / Supplied
Most searched terms on Airbnb
The letting platform recently shared a snapshot of the top 10 most searched keywords, typed by Kiwi holiday makers.
While a how life has changed since lockdown, and what Kiwi Airbnb users are looking for. It appears quite a lot of us got a dog last year, and could do with a long de-stress in a hot tub.
By far the top searched feature was "pet friendly" accommodation, up three places since last year. Second most important feature was a Jacuzzi, which had risen four places in search rankings.
This year Kiwis are less bothered with laundry (down three places) while taking short stays, and are more willing to eat out with kitchen and cooking facilities dropping two places to fourth priority.
Kiwis' ten most searched for features in an Airbnb 2021 1 Allows pets (up 3) 2 Jacuzzi (up 4) 3 Wi-fi (down 2) 4 Fully equipped kitchen facilities (down 2) 5 Free parking (down 2) 6 Pool (down 1) 7 Washer (down 3) 8 Air conditioning (up2) 9 Satellite TV (New) 10 Heating (up 1)
