The percentage of Americans who bought peer-to-peer accommodations or ride-hailing services represented by companies such as Airbnb and Uber has tripled in the past year, according to a poll commissioned by the Travel Technology Association, the Washington, D.C.-based trade group that represents online travel agencies.
The percentage of those who'd participated in short-term home rentals almost quadrupled from a year earlier, to 23%, while the percentage of those using ride-hailing services more than tripled from a year earlier, to 28%, Travel Tech said, citing a SurveyMonkey poll of about 1,000 U.S. adults taken late last month.
And about two-thirds of those surveyed said regulators need to find ways to legalize and "smartly" regulate ride- and home-sharing.
Overall, almost half of those surveyed said they participated in the peer-to-peer economy this year. Last year, PricewaterhouseCoopers pegged that percentage at 19%.