New Airbnb Hosts Earned $1 Billion During Pandemic

In a report published by Airbnb on February 17, 2021, the short-term rental platform claimed that hosts that have registered on Airbnb since the start of the pandemic have earned $1 billion in total. This earning total applies to new Airbnb hosts with one property listing.

Aside from being a momentous achievement, it also highlights that the STR market is surviving the global pandemic. In fact, during the festive period of 2020, Bloomberg reported something shocking. The US apparently was on track to reach 1 billion unsold hotel rooms. We did a report on the top 10 STR markets during that same period. You can read it here.

Once travel bans were lifted, people started searching for safe spaces. They wanted to escape their normal lives and still feel bio-safe. Airbnb rentals became the locations of choice. The numbers don’t lie. Single-property hosts who accepted their first bookings after the outbreak of the pandemic have earned a total of more than $1 billion. In less than a year, new hosts alone have drummed up $1 billion worth of business. That is momentous news for all STR stakeholders.

Airbnb Report Insights

When the pandemic first appeared on the radar, many were afraid that the STR market would be left in ruin. In a message from Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky on May 5, 2020, he confirmed that Airbnb was reducing the size of its workforce by 25%. This news sent shockwaves across the market.

But, one year later, there is light at the end of the tunnel. There’s no disputing that travel will look very different when the smoke from the pandemic clears. The new task for Airbnb hosts is figuring out how to run a successful Airbnb business in an economically uncertain landscape.

In their report published on February 17, 2021, Airbnb went on to list where these new hosts were located, and their total collective earnings:

Location	Collective Earnings
Catskills and the Hudson Valley, New York, US	$10 million
Los Angeles, US	$10 million
Smoky Mountains, Tennessee, US	$9 million
Atlanta, Georgia, US	$8 million
South Florida Gulf Coast, Flordia, US	$7 million
Vaucluse, France	$7 million
Poconos, Pennsylvania, US	$7 million
Cornwall, United Kingdom	$5 million

Airbnb also released their global data on what the average host earned in the five countries with the highest number of new, post-pandemic outbreak hosts. This average earning is based on global booking trends for those areas.

Country	Average Earning per Month
United States	$3,900
Australia	$3,400
Canada	$2,400
United Kingdom	$2,300
France	$1,700

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While you’re here, you might as well check out a few more of our latest posts! Ever wondered how dynamic pricing would cope with a host-only fee structure? Find out here!