AIRINC (Associates for International Research, Inc.)

Due to COVID-19, many markets that have recently been driven by short-term lettings ala Airbnb have had to reverse course. The short-term rental markets in Prague, Dublin, Madrid, Barcelona, Reykjavik, and many others have transitioned back to long-term rentals as a result of closed borders and a drastic reduction in demand.

AIRINC is featured in the February edition of Mobility, a magazine that "examines the key issues affecting the global mobility workforce." This article appears on page 10, the "Tips and Trends" section, and is entitled Housing Markets on the Rise—and Not. 

I arrived in a busy and bustling Barcelona for my May 2017 survey of the city. While preparing for my trip, accommodations were difficult to find and, once I arrived, I found my hostel overbooked. In the end, I booked a last-minute home-share and was lucky to find that the listed apartment (which had no pictures) was an acceptable base for my stay… although it was a top-floor walk-up!

For the sake of argument, let’s say that all the prices in Mbabane are half as much as they are in San Francisco—does that mean I should not receive a COLA to support my move?