With over two million listings worldwide, Airbnb has become one of the most popular destinations for those looking for rentals in cities nationwide. The American Hotel & Lodging Association (AH&LA) recently released the first comprehensive study conducted by researchers at the Penn State School of Hospitality Management on the rise of Airbnb, titled "From Air Mattresses to Unregulated Business: An Analysis of the Other Side of Airbnb." For Washington, D.C., the report indicates that there are a total 4,287 hosts, 3,694 of which have one unit (86.2 percent), 374 with two units (8.7 percent), and 219 with at least three units (5.1 percent). The hosts with the highest earning revenue were those with one unit, resulting in a total $34,650,514 from September 2014 to September 2015 (64.3 percent). The revenue collected from those with at least three units resulted in $12,518,114 (12.5 percent), while those with two units totaled $6,707,854 (23.2 percent).
While excluding share rooms and apartments, the analysis studies the 12 largest Metro areas in the nation, including New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, and Washington, D.C. Penn State University utilized data from Airdna, which tracks revenues and operations from Airbnb. With over 416,000 lines of data analyzed, the report reveals that between September 2014 to September 2015, monthly host revenue increased on a national level from $78.1 million to $124.3 million, a 59.2 percent increase. Almost 30 percent of the revenue came from hosts who rented out at least one unit for 360 or more days per year. If interested in getting a closer look at the data, you can check out the full report here.
· From Air Mattresses to Unregulated Business: An Analysis of the Other Side of Airbnb [Penn State]
· All Airbnb coverage [Curbed DC]