Paris bookings on Airbnb and other accommodation services have slumped following last month’s riots and looting, with the ongoing unrest prompting some visitors to avoid the French capital. Agence Butler, which handles up to 150 rental properties a month, has seen new bookings halve since the Oct. 17 riots, Chief Marketing Officer Louis Carrel-Billiard said in an interview.

Last-minute reservations have collapsed by three-quarters, he added. Meanwhile, bookings in Paris on platforms such as Airbnb, Booking.com and Vrbo in the week after Oct. 17 slumped 18% from a year earlier, according to Jamie Lane, chief economist at short-term rental analytics firm AirDNA.

There was a similar drop the following week, while almost a third of stays in the seven-day period starting Oct. 19 were canceled, Lane said.

Student and public-sector workers in France started protesting in September, with demands for better funding and complaints over the cost of living. The demonstrations morphed into vandalism in mid-October, when rioters attacked and set public buildings on fire, while other individuals looted stores across the country, including in central Paris.

Rental rates have also come down, Carrel-Billiard said. Agence Butler, which generates 75% of sales through Airbnb, had seven no-shows following the riots, with the clients not asking to be reimbursed. “More than cancellations, the lack of new bookings remains the major issue,” he said. If current booking trends continue, November will have an occupancy rate of as low as 35%, almost half last year’s rate, Carrel-Billiard said.

While protests that took place on Oct. 24 were generally quieter in Paris and the rest of France, tourist destinations like the Louvre museum had to shut that day on police orders, disrupting long-scheduled plans by tourists at the last minute. More protests have been called for Nov. 5 across the country.

Since the riots, store fronts have been boarded up and many have remained under heavy protection while staying open for business, giving an eerie impression to normally aesthetically pleasing shopping districts.

Paris is one of Airbnb’s most important cities globally. In 2024, it was the company’s largest in terms of nights and listings, Chief Financial Officer Ellie Mertz said shortly after the Olympic Games. Airbnb didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

Other European cities also grappled with riots and looting in recent days, including Milan in Italy and Frankfurt and Cologne in Germany.

Leonard de Taillandier, founder and chief executive officer of Get a Key, another property concierge service, said bookings remain volatile. “This activity is like a rollercoaster,” he said. “At any given moment, demand soars as we saw in September with the Celine Dion concerts and the visit of the Pope. But then you have episodes of riots,” which can dampen demand.

Get a Key, which only works with Airbnb properties, has slashed night rates by 50% in some cases for this month to lure guests, he said.

Airbnb hosts aren’t the only ones under pressure. Luxury hotels saw a 20% cancellation rate during the last week of October, according to Christophe Laure, who heads hospitality lobby group UMIH Prestige.

Last-minute bookings were down 60% on normal levels, he said, adding that November and December appear “very quiet.”