The COVID-19 pandemic has sent travelers looking for safe, comfortable settings in which to connect with family and friends, creating economic opportunity for others to earn needed extra income by listing their homes on Airbnb.
A new report from Airbnb reveals that new hosts with only one listing who have welcomed their first guests since the start of the pandemic have already earned more than $1 billion. Locally, new hosts with one listing in Phoenix are seeing success on the platform, earning $1.5 million since March 2020.
The typical new hosts in the US earned $3,900—money that our host surveys tell us is often used to pay important bills. And in an especially difficult time for working women, who have been hardest hit by job losses during the pandemic, we estimate that 55 percent of these new hosts are women and they have collectively earned more than half a billion dollars hosting on Airbnb since the pandemic started.
Half of all hosts worldwide tell us they use their Airbnb earnings to stay in their homes. And according to a more recent survey, during the pandemic, three in 10 US hosts (29 percent) have used their hosting income to pay their rent or mortgage—including half (49 percent) of hosts aged 25-34. One quarter of hosts (26 percent) have used the income to pay down debts, and 10 percent have used it to pay for healthcare.
If you’re considering hosting, now is the time. As our recent consumer polling tells us, there is pent-up demand for travel as people yearn to get out of the house and connect after months of pandemic-caused isolation, and the type of meaningful travel enabled by Airbnb is the kind of travel people will continue to seek even after the pandemic ends.
It’s clear that new hosts on Airbnb have learned quickly how to successfully make their guests feel at home. In the US, one quarter of new hosts with just one listing have already become Superhosts, a designation given to hosts who provide a shining example for other hosts, and extraordinary experiences for their guests.
At Airbnb, we believe that the kind of travel and connection people will seek in 2021 is best enabled by hosts, and we are always excited to welcome new hosts to the platform. If you’re interested in becoming a host or in learning more about hosting, start with these resources:
- How to host on your terms
- How to earn money on Airbnb
- What does Airbnb expect of hosts?
- Mastering your calendar and booking settings
Airbnb (NASDAQ: ABNB) is a community based on connection and belonging—a community that was born in 2008 when two hosts welcomed three guests to their San Francisco home, and has since grown to 4 million hosts who have welcomed over 800 million guest arrivals to about 100,000 cities in almost every country and region across the globe. Hosts on Airbnb are everyday people who share their worlds to provide guests with the feeling of connection and being at home. At Airbnb, we believe that hosts, guests and the communities where we operate are all stakeholders we have a responsibility to serve, and that by serving them alongside our employees and investors, we will build an enduringly successful company.
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