Nearly nine out of ten travellers have yet to rent or stay in a stranger's property for a trip, with concerns over the identity of owners cited as a significant factor.
Over 2,000 consumers in the US and UK were interviewed for the report from HooYu, with only 12% of Brits and 15% of Americans saying they have used an alternative accommodation option for their travels.
The figures are lower, 6% and 10% for the UK and US respectively, for those specifically renting a room for a trip in somebody's home.
The cornerstone of the apparent lack of take-up in seeking out alternative accommodation options in the mainstream, despite the meteoric rise of the likes of Airbnb and continued growth of HomeAway, is a worry about reliability and trustworthiness of property owners.
Some 29% of Brits would never rent someone else's property for a trip with assurance over the owner's identity (the figure is 24% for Americans).
The figure rises to 35% and 41% for UK and US, with travellers saying they would do so "with a degree of reservation".
The issue is compounded by having to put some level of trust in a website that is brokering a rental for a trip.
Some 21% would trust a stranger to provide their alternative accommodation if the intermediary claimed to have checked out the bona fides of the owner (79% say they would be more inclined to do so if they had some kind of independent verification).
Such verification could come in the form of ID sources, online ID, driving license, date of birth, etc, claims HooYu.
Marketing director, David Pope, says:
"Many leading holiday rental sites take a proactive approach to checking the identity of their owners and guests whilst others adopt a more 'caveat emptor' or 'buyer beware' approach.
"Unsurprisingly, it’s those that offer a well-lit marketplace where participants can trust and transact in confidence that will grow quickest and succeed."
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