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An extended interview with Homestay.com CEO, Alan Clarke dscussing a recently commissioned Phocuswright report on the\\xa0 Shared Space /Homestay accomodation sector. The report covers an 8 country, 8,000 person survey in December 2014. The survey found that anywhere from 10% - 20% of travellers are choosing the shared space / homestay option of accommodation. Some of the key findings are below
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-\\xa0\\xa0\\xa0\\xa0\\xa0\\xa0\\xa0\\xa0\\xa0 Nearly one in 10 travellers in the US and UK rented a shared space last year , this compares to one in 5 for whole home rentals
-\\xa0\\xa0\\xa0\\xa0\\xa0\\xa0\\xa0\\xa0\\xa0 Participation in shared spaces grows to almost one in 5 in countries like China, Brazil and Russia
-\\xa0\\xa0\\xa0\\xa0\\xa0\\xa0\\xa0\\xa0\\xa0 Shared space accommodation sector rose from 3% in 2012 to 9% in 2014\\xa0 in the US
-\\xa0\\xa0\\xa0\\xa0\\xa0\\xa0\\xa0\\xa0\\xa0 Number of millennials (18-34) renting shared space accommodation is up to 15%\\xa0
-\\xa0\\xa0\\xa0\\xa0\\xa0\\xa0\\xa0\\xa0\\xa0 53% of shared space renters are aged 35+, with 55+ making up 22% of the market, demonstrating shared stays are not just popular with young travellers
-\\xa0\\xa0\\xa0\\xa0\\xa0\\xa0\\xa0\\xa0\\xa0 Nearly half of all shared space renters in the US and UK have an annual household income of more than \\xa350k

F\\xe1ilte Ireland will be borrowing the \\u2018Google Trekker\\u2019 over the next three months to capture many of Ireland\\u2019s remotest tourism beauty spots which haven\\u2019t yet been captured by Google Street View. - See more at: http://www.failteireland.ie/Footer/Media-Centre/Failte-Ireland-and-Google-Partner-to-Put-Ireland-o.aspx#sthash.LMegCDME.dpuf
We discuss in detail these findings, and trace the broader implications for the accommodation sector, and the challengs facing the shared space segment.

At the start of the show I am joined by phone by Brian Quinn on Ireland's Wild Atlantic Way in Co. Mayo. Brian is\\xa0 from F\\xe1ilte Ireland who have just\\xa0 announced that it is borrowing Google's hi-tech 'Trekker' to capture Street View images of some of the country's remotest spots.

The Google Trekker is a wearable backpack, mounted with a spherical device containing over a dozen cameras that gather images as it goes.