10 Fun Facts You Didn't Know About Airbnb

Airbnb is one of the most successful short-term rental businesses in the world today. Since its formation in 2008, it has experienced massive growth, starting out with just a few friends renting extra space in their home to an international multibillion-dollar corporation.

Airbnb and other companies like it have completely disrupted the hotel and recreation industry. Despite taking a hit due to the coronavirus pandemic, Airbnb has been one of the first to bounce back and even announced its intention to become a publicly-traded company in 2020. Per its prospectus released November 16:

“In early 2020, as COVID-19 disrupted travel across the world, Airbnb’s business declined significantly,” the company wrote. “But within two months, our business model started to rebound even with limited international travel, demonstrating its resilience. People wanted to get out of their homes and yearned to travel, but they did not want to go far or to be in crowded hotel lobbies. Domestic travel quickly rebounded on Airbnb around the world as millions of guests took trips closer to home. Stays of longer than a few days started increasing as work-from-home became work-from-any-home on Airbnb. We believe that the lines between travel and living are blurring, and the global pandemic has accelerated the ability to live anywhere. Our platform has proven adaptable to serve these new ways of traveling.”

The platform is simultaneously paving new ways for people to make extra money relatively easily—much like many of the other tech companies creating opportunities within the “gig economy,” such as Uber, Postmates, Upwork, and more.

Below are several interesting tidbits about Airbnb that you might not have known before.

10 Fun Facts About Airbnb

1) Valuation

As of 2019, Airbnb’s private valuation was $35 billion.
This puts Airbnb’s value at a higher number than many well-known brands in the hotel industry that have been around much longer.
However, it’s value decreased post-COVID to $18B.

2) Host Protection Insurance

Airbnb provides each host a $1 million liability insurance policy for their rental business.
This policy applies for each incident that occurs in their property. If they have multiple properties, they are covered just as well.

3) Total Listings

Airbnb currently has more than 7 million listings all across the world.
On any given day, Airbnb provides lodging services for 2 million guests.
The United States controls the majority of this market share.
Airbnb listings are available in over 100,000 cities spanning 220 countries.

4) Affordability

On average, Airbnb rentals are 21% to 49% cheaper than hotel rooms.
More and more people every year are using Airbnb and other short-term rental platforms for business travel, vacation, etc.

5) Booking Trends

The majority of Airbnb bookings are for 2-4 people per stay.
This means that making your property compatible for multiple guests will guarantee you make more money every month.

6) Airbnb Arbitrage

With Airbnb arbitrage, you don’t even need to own a home to start an Airbnb business. This is a business strategy where a wannabe host rents a property from a landlord and then lists it on the platform.
Hosts can make $1,000+ per month of positive cash flow for each property when acquired with rental arbitrage.

7) Airbnb Experiences

Airbnb doesn’t just offer homes and rooms for rent. They also offer Airbnb Experiences such as tours, social events, online experiences, and other adventures.

8) Popularity

The most popular locations for Airbnb in 2019 were in China, Mexico, and New Zealand.
Each year Airbnb acquires more and more of the international market share.
This trend is not only serving guests but also allowing everyday people to create successful businesses out of their homes.

9) Host Demographics

More and more people over the age of 55 are taking up Airbnb hosting as a source of income.
This may be a result of the fact that most homeowners are older, giving them a lower barrier to entry.
Creating a reliable source of passive income could allow you to retire early and get more out of life while you’re young.

10) Guest Demographics

The majority of bookings on Airbnb are by people who are between the ages of 22 and 37.
This younger generation of users is paving the way for new and alternative technologies that provide age-old services.
This likely means that this trend will continue into the future, thereby securing the financial success of those who choose to get into hosting.

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Note By BiggerPockets: These are opinions written by the author and do not necessarily represent the opinions of BiggerPockets.