Europeans Turn to Hosting as Cost of Living Inflates – Hotel Magazine

Airbnb was conceived in 2008 during the Great Recession to help people afford their homes. Today, as households across the EU struggle with a cost of living crisis, the short-term rental company is sharing insight into the income that hosting generates for new hosts across the region.

New research shows that EU hosts who welcomed their first guest in the first half of 2022 have already earned more than €270 million. As guests seek affordable travel options across the EU, hosts have not had to wait long for income to start flowing in. Around half of new EU listings in Q2 2022 received a booking within two days of activation, and three-quarters received a booking within eight days.

Over 40 percent of EU Hosts disclosed that they share their homes to help afford rising living costs, typically earning just over €3,000 in 2021 – an 18 percent increase compared to 2019 and equivalent to two months’ additional pay for the average EU household.

EU hosts have welcomed more guests on Airbnb than any other region worldwide and have collectively earned more than €43 billion. The vast majority of EU Hosts have only one listing, and many are located outside urban areas, which helps extend tourism benefits to local families and communities.

According to a survey of EU Hosts, nearly one in five said they or someone in their household work in either education or healthcare. More than half who self-reported their gender are women, over half are in full or part-time employment, and over a quarter are retirees.

“Hosting is an economic lifeline for many everyday Europeans that helps them afford rising inflation and living costs – but burdensome local rules mean many others are shut out from the opportunity,” said Georgina Browes, Head of EU Policy at Airbnb.

Fragmented rules often are designed with large-scale tourism operators in mind, which lead to many EU citizens being unable to share their homes. The European Commission is currently drafting proposals for new harmonised EU-wide rules to which Airbnb has submitted its short-term rental (STR) initiative on unlocking the benefits of hosting for millions of everyday Europeans while giving governments the tools they need to clamp down on speculators and tackle over-tourism.

The EU STR initiative consultation received over 5,500 responses, 80 percent from EU citizens, including short-term rental hosts struggling with disproportionate local rules.

Airbnb’s proposals are set out in our EU Host Action Plan, which the company launched in December in response to the EU’s consultation.