With the 2014 FIFA World Cup tournament approaching, hotel room availability might have become scarce. For travelers, renting a room or apartment has become an alternative and reportedly popular option in Latin America.

Based on data from the first quarter of 2014 compiled from GlobalWebIndex, the Latin America region ranked popular among Internet users worldwide who have rented either an apartment or room through a home and lodging rental service via Airbnb-style platforms.

In the survey, 30 percent of Internet users ages of 16-64 responded that they were most likely to use Airbnb for a room in Latin America. Latin America held a double-digit lead ahead of the Asia-Pacific's 15 percent in the survey. The Middle East and Africa block ranked third with 13 percent, narrowly ahead Europe's 11 percent. North America, however, was not as popular, receiving 8 percent.

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The top country for Airbnb was Brazil, the only Latin American country to rank in the top five countries list. Forty percent of respondents said they have rented rooms or apartments through Airbnb during the first quarter of 2014 in Brazil, 16 percentage points ahead of Indonesia and Philippines, which both tied at 24 percent. The top five countries concluded with Thailand and Malaysia, which tied with 19 percent.

GlobalWebIndex's Head of Trends, Jason Mander, told Latin Post the results were not surprising. Services such as Airbnb and related platforms have been a "big focus" in Latin America. Brazil, particularly, will be a "prime market for uptake of affordable rentals" because of the FIFA World Cup and the 2016 Summer Olympics. 

As eMarketer also noted, a possible influence for Latin America's lead is the World Cup, which will be hosted across 12 Brazilian cities. Brazilian hotels may be encountering overcrowding or the overpricing of rooms for people traveling to the soccer tournament. As a result, people are renting rooms and apartments as an alternative. 

In regards to overall room rentals through Airbnb, GlobalWebIndex found 49 percent of respondents were "interested" in using the Airbnb platform. When split into genders, men responded at 51 percent, while women accounted for 47 percent. Age also proved interesting among those likely to rent an apartment on room Airbnb. The 25 to 34-year-old group was more likely to rent rooms via Airbnb at 56 percent. The 16-24 age group was narrowly behind at 53 percent. And the 55-64 age group responded in lower figures at 29 percent.

Mander noted that "enthusiasm" for renting rooms peaked with top income earners, labeled as "top 25 percent."

"Unsurprisingly, though, it falls in line with family size: The more children someone has the less keen they are to choose Airbnb over more formal types of holiday accommodation," Mander added on GlobalWebIndex's blog.

Airbnb, specifically, has been promoted in Brazil ahead of the World Cup with the company's first global ad campaign promoting the service.

According to AdAge, "The campaign seeks to explain Airbnb's value proposition for its online marketplace of people looking to rent their apartments, rooms and houses to short-term visitors: that traveling can be a more personal experience from within someone else's home."

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For the latest updates, follow Latin Post's Michael Oleaga on Twitter: @EditorMikeO or contact via email: m.oleaga@latinpost.com.