From the Heritage Foundation, I'm Michelle Cordero, and this is Mass Ave.

Seeing loved ones, trying new food, breathtaking views, amazing hikes, art, music, sunshine, beaches, romance.

These are just some of the reasons we travel.

According to the U.S. Travel Association, in 2017, direct spending by resident and international travelers in the United States averaged $2.8 billion a day. People love to travel,

and it's great for the economy. But don't we always hear people say, I wish I traveled more? I know I do.

So what's holding us back? My guess, it's expensive to travel. In addition to transportation costs, hotels can cost hundreds of dollars per night,

and usually more in popular destinations.

But luckily for us, the world continues to innovate.

The next time you travel, will you book a room through Airbnb?

More and more Americans are, and it's really having an impact on the hotel business.

Sparkley's Bank is out with a report titled Hotels is Airbnb a game change?

Imagine this, 25 million people booking rooms through Airbnb, and they're not just rooms. You can book everything from

a Winnebago to they've got 600 castles. Our interview today is with Romina Baccia, deputy

director of Heritage's Thomas A. Rowe Institute for Economic Policy Studies and Grover M. Herman

Research Fellow. We talked to her about the Airbnb

effect and new research that's proving that alternative lodging is actually increasing tourism

and overall travel, with direct benefits for local economies. Ramina, thank you so much for joining us.

Thank you for having me.

Okay, so I think at this point we've all heard of Airbnb.

It's the online marketplace that lets people rent out their properties or spare rooms to guests, started in 2009.

And since its inception, a lot of things have happened.

Romina, what is what people are dubbing the Airbnb effect?

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