One area in which London still surpasses its rivals is the number of international visitors it receives: more than any other in

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问题    One area in which London still surpasses its rivals is the number of international visitors it receives: more than any other in the world in 2015. And while the city has long been an attractive destination for leisure and business travelers, it is currently undergoing an almost unprecedented hotel building boom. The number of hotel rooms has risen from 129, 000 in 2013 to 149, 000 today, and may reach as many as 180, 000 by 2018. Despite competition from room-sharing sites such as Airbnb, there is still no sign of over-capacity. Last year occupancy rates reached their highest in a decade and average daily rates were higher than ever before. Why?
   One big market for London’s hotels is international visitors. But it is one which is running out of steam. Total spending by overseas visitors is likely to be flat in 2015. Whereas the strong pound has convinced many tourists to divert to cheaper European cities, business travelers cannot avoid London so easily. So while tourist spending stagnated in 2015, business folk splashed out 7% more in Britain than the previous year. So there are still plenty more business people to fill London’s extra rooms, even if some tourists are staying away.
   Hoteliers are surprisingly tough given the violent attack from sharing-economy websites that allow people to rent out their spare rooms to travelers. Airbnb has forced down hotel revenues in some American cities by as much as 10%. By comparison, its impact has been reduced in London. Only 0.5% of Londoners advertise their properties on Airbnb, compared with 2.4% of Parisians. One reason is that there is a shortage of reasonably priced residential stock near London’s main tourist attractions, which are enclosed by offices and mansions. Secondly, the growth of Airbnb listings in London and other big European cities is slowing, meaning that Londoners’ spare rooms are unlikely to soak up much more demand.
   But the most convincing explanation is that London’s business travelers are avoiding locals’ spare rooms in favor of comfortable, anonymous hotels. Unlike budget-conscious holidaymakers, who are willing to book a room in a stranger’s home on Airbnb to save money, most business people travel on expense accounts. Their employers, citing a duty to ensure safety, remain wary of spare-room-booking sites, fearing the possibility of axe murderers or unreliable wiring or unsafe stairwells. As long as the City of London continues to flourish, the capital’s hotels will do fine.
Airbnb is mentioned in Paragraph Three as a website that______in London.

选项 A、will drive hotels out of business
B、can find much business to do
C、has collaborated with hotels
D、poses little threat to hotels

答案D

解析 第三段分析Airbnb的发展势头。Airbnb是AirBed and Breakfast的缩写,中文名是爱彼迎。爱彼迎是一家服务型网站,联系旅游人士和家有空房出租的房主,它可以为用户提供多样的住宿信息。文中说Airbnb在伦敦出租的房屋数量有限,而且在欧洲主要城市的上市增长率放缓,不会对伦敦的宾馆构成太大威胁。
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