In order to house the 50,000 visitors expected to attend Rio+20, accommodating visitors in Rio resident's homes is gaining strength in order to complement vacancies in the hotel network. As the demand has not been satisfied by conventional hotels, residents are renting out apartments and rooms to visitors.
 
In addition to the official request by the Municipality for the population to receive visitors, the Tourism Secretariat (Riotur) announced the creation of a website for those interested in renting accommodation. The launch is scheduled for the week of May 14 and is expected to serve as a portal for other events such as World Youth Day, an event planned by the Catholic Church in 2013.
 
However, the private sector anticipated the Municipal initiative. Since the Brazilian Association of Hotels (ABIH-RJ) announced that the 33,000 rooms available in the City, including hostels and motels, would not be sufficient to meet demand from Conference participants (the occupancy rate is already 95% for the period between June 13 and 22), home accommodation websites have begun to appear to facilitate negotiation between home owners and tourists.

Launched in March, the Rio Plus 20 site, dedicated to Rio+20, already has around 500 properties registered, of which over 30% are already rented. Rates range from R$ 90 for rooms and R$ 3,000 for apartments, attracting mainly Embassy staff and delegations from other countries, according to the entrepreneur responsible for the site, Eduardo Serrado.

Also targeting the conference, Rio Home Stay recently unified rental sites offering around 200 bed & breakfast rooms - the host does not have to leave their home and often provides breakfast for the guests. Rates range between R$ 130 and R$ 250, and according to the administrator, Carlos Cerqueira, 75% of rooms are already occupied - 80% by foreigners.

 

Source:
Agência Brasil