Airbnb really wants you to Airbnb an apartment. Its last step is therefore to find accommodation for tenants, which they can also list on the travel booking platform.
Today the company presented a new program called “Airbnb-compatible apartments” in the United States. It allows renters to find an apartment in more than 25 markets – including Austin, Houston, Phoenix, Jacksonville, Los Angeles, Miami San Diego, Sacramento and Tampa – where they can Airbnb a spare bedroom or the entire apartment while they are a way.
At the launch, the company partnered with local building owners to list 175 “Airbnb-friendly” apartments in different regions. Tenants can go to dedicated website for the program and search for properties in a specific location. Once you’ve selected an apartment, you can use an income calculator that estimates how much you can earn by listing the place on Airbnb.
Picture credits: Airbnb
You can contact the property manager directly from the Airbnb site to schedule a viewing of the property. On the program’s FAQ, Airbnb states that it does not own any of these properties. It also mentions that renters will need to follow local laws and building regulations to place their place on Airbnb, as well as the company’s own community guidelines. However, rental and lease agreements are handled directly between landlords and tenants, with Airbnb staying out of this part of the process.
Airbnb claimed that in a recent poll conducted by the company – the results of which are not public – three-quarters of “American adults support allowing renters to share their apartments for the short term”. The company has presumably partnered with landlords to allow tenants to list their properties on a platform and earn money from the arrangement. However, Airbnb did not disclose details of its partnership agreements.
“Traditionally tenants have been excluded from part-time home sharing due to the strict tenancy terms. We believe this program will help more renters take advantage of hosting on Airbnb to earn extra money to cover the rising cost of living,” the company said in an email response.
Airbnb mentioned that while it doesn’t take a rent discount, building owners “take a revenue share of between 20 and 25 percent of a host’s booking amount.”
Airbnb and its hosts have been blamed in the past to list properties without proper permission. Earlier this month, New York City has issued stricter rules for hosts by requiring them to submit full diagrams of the listed property along with proof that the property is a permanent resident. In France, it is mandatory for tenants to take written permission from the landlord to sublet the house. Last year, the city of Paris condemned Airbnb $9.6 million for hosting illegal listings that have not been properly registered with the authorities.
The company said its new program provides access to tools that property managers can use to view and approve listings, see the number of hosts and guests booked at any given time, and limit the annual nights that can be booked. listed on Airbnb. These tools also allow property managers to detect or suspend the listing in case a host violates building regulations.
The travel booking company – which already has more than 4 million hosts on its service – wants to build a large network of hosts on the platform. Earlier this month, it released new tools for hosts including guided setup with a super host and better damage coverage. At that time, CEO Brian Chesky told TechCrunch that he didn’t want to “enter an era of supply shortages” when it came to hosts. The Airbnb-compatible apartment program is another way the company is getting more listings on its platform.
Update November 30, 8:45 PM IST: Updated post with Airbnb’s responses on tools available to property managers.
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