Beyondcities:
HowAirbnbsupports
ruralrevitalization
Tableofcontents
Introduction
03
EUROPE
France
07
Ireland
09
Italy
11
Spain
13
ASIAPACIFIC
Australia
15
India
18
Japan
20
Korea
22
Taiwan
24
AMERICAS
Canada
26
Latin America
28
US
30
Growing our community beyond cities
33
Disaster response
34
Conclusion
35
BeyondCities|Airbnb|2
Introduction
As interest in travel and tourism grows, passing 10 percent of global GDP in 2017, Airbnb is
bringing the economic benefits to communities around the world that haven’t shared in these
benefits in the past. With 97 percent of the listing price going directly to hosts, and 42 percent
1
of guests’ spending occurring within the neighborhoods where they stay, the financial impact of
home sharing can be significant for atypical travel destinations.
This is an especially promising value proposition for the vast parts of the world that start
where cities end. In 1900, 12 cities had populations of 1 million people or more. Today, about
500 do. As the balance of the global population has shifted to cities, so have government
2
resources and business capital, causing a widening gap in economic opportunity
between urban and rural areas.
1
World Travel and Tourism Council, Travel and Tourism Economic Impact 2017.
2
Population Reference Bureau and The Globalist, July 30, 2015.
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At Airbnb, we believe home sharing can help close this gap by enabling many people
beyond cities to benefit directly from the tourism boom, rather than keeping the growing
profits in the hands of the traditional hospitality industry. Home sharing creates new
economic opportunity where people live, supplements incomes that have stagnated, diversifies
incomes that are at risk, and lowers the pressure people may feel to move. Home sharing also
helps rural communities welcome more visitors, including for major events that can bring
unprecedented infusions of revenue, without having to invest in permanent infrastructure which
corporate hotel chains have been disinclined to build in these areas, anyway.
While Airbnb’s work in cities receives the most attention, our growth beyond them—including in
all 11 countries studied for this report—is outpacing our growth within them as we work with
local governments to support rural revitalization. In Latin America, our fastest-growing market,
guest arrivals at rural listings in Argentina have quadrupled in the past year and rural listings
have tripled. In Japan, guest arrivals outside cities have grown by 267 percent.
$1.06billion
2016incomeforAirbnbnon-urban
hostsinthe11countriesstudiedfor
thisreport
3
8.5million
2016guestarrivalsatnon-urbanlistings
inthe11countriesstudied
Many rural communities around the world have had little investment by corporate hotel chains.
In the countrysides of Ireland and France where we are supporting government campaigns to
increase tourism, we’ve been able to watch home sharing transform the traditional tourist
season in real time. In Korea and Taiwan, vacation spots known only to locals are leveraging
home sharing to enter the global spotlight, while in Japan, home sharing is helping to revitalize
areas afflicted by natural disasters and declines in population. In India, rural women are finding
new livelihoods through hosting, a few listings at a time. The majority of Airbnb rural hosts
are women in every country studied for this report except for Brazil (where 49 percent of
rural hosts are women).
In other areas that are popular for outdoor recreation, Airbnb expands the economic pie by
making travel more accessible for families and others in need of affordable options. In our new
partnership with the National Park Foundation, the nonprofit partner to the US National Park
Service, Airbnb will work with the Foundation to make it easier for guests to find places to stay
around 10 parks across the United States. In Latin America, we are supporting government
pushes for eco- and agritourism.
3
Countries studied exclusively for this report include: Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, France, Italy, Japan, Korea, Spain, Taiwan, and the US.
Additional content included for Ireland and India.
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Of course, in many countries, our non-urban listings are still a small fraction of our overall
communities. This is especially true for relatively new host communities in Asia such as Japan,
Korea and Taiwan, as well as in Latin America. In Australia, on the other hand, fully half of our
available listings and 56 percent of our guest arrivals are outside urban areas. In the US, where
nearly one in five active Airbnb listings are rural, rural host income approached $500 million in
just the past year.
Airbnb hosts beyond cities are using home sharing to address challenges that can differ vastly
from those faced by our urban hosts. Some of these challenges linger from the Great Recession
and other regional or state economic recessions: in some rural areas, a lack of mobility is
keeping people in place despite little opportunity; in others, new ways to earn a living are
needed to keep young people and families from leaving. Taiwan, where we are helping the
government create more opportunity by promoting locally known holiday destinations, is home
to the youngest non-urban hosts, with an average age of 39. France, where official concern is
growing over its aging rural population, is home to the oldest rural hosts with an average age of
50.
Increasingly, though, rural areas are facing challenges related more to a future made uncertain
by technology and climate change than they are tied to the past. Droughts and extreme weather
can wreak havoc on the economics of agriculture, but the debts farmers and ranchers undertake
to keep going are constant obligations. Automation threatens mining and trucking jobs and the
rural economies that depend on them. Support for entrepreneurship is scarce as cities seem to
corner the market on investment and technological advances.
Airbnb, on the other hand, is a technology platform dedicated to empowering people, including
by working around the blockers preventing most rural areas from seeing the returns of growing
tourism. Outside of popular vacation-rental markets, tourism isn’t as established an industry as it
is in cities and less infrastructure is in place to support travelers. Payment systems can be part
of this missing infrastructure. In some areas where Airbnb now operates that are well beyond
cities, we’ve learned to adjust our payment processes to make them fit with local approaches,
such as acceptance of India’s Permanent Account Number cards for nonprofit organizations,
installment plans, and Brazil’s Boleto, payable in local banks or post offices.
Availability of data can be another missing piece of infrastructure. Particularly in emerging
markets, stronger data collection is needed to assess hosting’s economic impact on the
communities in which we operate and improve the quality of offerings for guests. Airbnb is
thrilled to be partnering with the World Bank Group, a leading international development
institution and one of the largest combined finance and technical assistance providers in tourism
development, on initiatives including a study on the development impacts of home sharing and
pilot projects in areas we jointly identify as emerging tourist destinations.
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From our campaigns to help promote the small villages of Italy and towns of France, to our
growth in parts of the US that aren’t traditional tourist hotspots, to our efforts in Asia to open up
their countrysides to more travelers and train new hosts, our work outside the cities with which
we are more commonly linked is among the work that make us most proud. For all the doubling
and tripling of our growth in some areas, we’re overjoyed to be making a difference for an
isolated village of six residents in Italy, a group of eight women in rural India, and a city
devastated by disaster in Japan.
This report describes through host stories, partnership details and data how we holistically help
benefit the rural communities Airbnb hosts call home and in which our guests increasingly feel
they belong.
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Europe
FRANCE
MarielleTerouinard,Châtillon-en-Dunois
Marielle is a passionate, 44-year-old host living in the French countryside. She was born in
Paris and lived in Australia and Ireland before settling in Châtillon-en-Dunois, where her father
has been the mayor for 37 years. Châtillon-en-Dunois is located about two hours’ drive from
Paris in the center of the country, and she says she would never leave the area for any reason.
Marielle’s mission is “to make the countryside great again.” That’s why, 14 years ago, she
founded Agricool, a local organization that aims to make the village more dynamic. She
regularly organizes open-air rummage sales, tombolas, local painting exhibitions and sports
events. Marielle has always been very engaged in connecting people and building relationships,
and loves when people meet and share good times together.
Sharing her home on Airbnb has given Marielle another way to help make connections. “Airbnb
is one of the best ways ever for the French villages to be known in France, but also around the
world.” She sees Airbnb as a movement and a worldwide community, and thinks home sharing
enables a new way of getting in contact with a very specific and local way of living. Her next
challenge: creating an “Airbnb Open Doors Day” with other hosts!
When Marielle hosts, she shares everything she can, making fresh fruit salad for her guests
each morning, providing them with tips for strolls through the area, and always giving her
departing guests a jar of homemade jam. “This is my way of saying ‘thank you!’” Marielle’s
Airbnb income helps support the housework and her love of gardening, but she hosts to meet
new people and share the beauty of her way of life.
France is one of world’s the most popular places to visit, but too many visitors see too little of all
that France has to offer. The country has a rich rural history and even today, is home to nearly
half a million farms; more than half its land mass is cultivated. Yet, of the country’s 18 regions,
4
the three most popular for tourists—Île-de-France (Paris), Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes (Lyon and the
Alps) and Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur (Provence, Marseille)—account for more than half of all
4
France Ministry of Agriculture, February 1, 2017.
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tourism revenue, and the five most popular tourist destinations are concentrated in the greater
Paris area.
The terrorist attacks in Paris and Nice and subsequent drop-off in tourism emphasized the need
for France to encourage travel to other parts of the country. In 2016, the Foreign Minister called
for the country to “reboot tourism.”
Airbnb responded with “Maisons de France by Airbnb,” a marketing campaign to promote travel
to all of France’s regions with the goals of drawing visitors beyond Paris, bringing tourism
spending to areas that had seen comparably little of it, and providing an outlet for national and
regional pride at a time when the French identity was under attack. The campaign included a
nationwide contest to identify the most iconic Airbnb homes and hosts in every region of the
country. Hosts on Airbnb nominated their listings, which were studied by a panel of recognized
heritage and tourism experts who recommended a short list that was then voted on by the
public; 40,000 people cast votes. We also celebrated the winning hosts and listings with events
designed to draw further attention to these areas. Throughout 2016, Airbnb also regularly
published regional economic impact studies showing how hosts help distribute tourism across
France.
Home sharing is creating more economic opportunity at a time when France’s rural areas have
been showing real signs of strain. One third of French farmers earn less than €350 per month
through farming, and many small farms have gone out of business in the past 20 years. Young
5
people are decamping for cities and the welfare of the aging rural population is a growing
concern.
Annual income for Airbnb hosts in rural France has risen dramatically since 2015, from €49
million that year to €105 million in 2016. Rural listings grew from 25,000 in 2015 to 47,000 in
2016.
88%
Year-over-yeargrowth
inrurallistings
60%
Ofruralhostsare
women,comparedto
57%incities
50
Averageageofrural
hosts,theoldestofany
countrystudied
A separate January 2017 study by the French think tank Terra Nova and Google France
highlights how Airbnb brings tourism benefits to remote communities. Defining “remote
communities” as places where geographies and economies are isolated from urban centers, the
5
LesEchos.fr, “Un agriculteur sur trois gagne moins de 350 euros par mois,” October 11, 2016.
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report finds that these communities represent 2 percent of France’s population and 10 percent
of its villages. In 2015, 4,500 Airbnb hosts spread across 1,170 villages welcomed more than
90,000 guests and earned more than €10 million. According to the report, there are no hotels in
two-thirds of the remote communities where Airbnb hosts list their space.
The Terra Nova report also urges policymakers to “support the growth of the collaborative
economy in remote communities by offering stable and supportive legal frameworks. This
economy improves the utilisation of underutilised shareable goods. The potential positive
impacts of its development for these communities deserve specific attention from public
authorities.”
IRELAND
NiamhandRichardMarsh,Curraglass,Cork
In Lisnabrin House, a Georgian property in rural East Cork with a 300-year history of warm
welcomes, Niamh and Richard Marsh and their children credit Airbnb with the perfect
opportunity to open their home and continue this tradition of hospitality.
Over the years, local publicans, restaurateurs, transport providers, talented musicians and
neighbors have all helped Niamh and Richard ensure that their guests feel welcome and are
immersed in local traditions and activities. According to Nimah and Richard, whether guests are
families, newlyweds or someone looking for a tranquil country retreat, the local community is
key to ensuring they take a little bit of Ireland home with special memories and new friends.
“We have met wonderful and interesting people from all over the world. With guests arriving
back from a day’s fishing with fresh salmon from the Blackwater, participating in the local
Vintage Car Rally over the Vee, walks along the coast at Ardmore and through Lismore Castle
Gardens, or often joining us for celebrations with family and friends, our lives have been
enriched by these experiences. We have forged strong relationships in the community as we all
work together to promote this hidden part of Ireland in the Bride Valley.”
As Ireland’s global standing as a technology hub grows, Airbnb is working with Irish officials and
NGO partners to help ensure that all of Ireland is lifted by the technological and economic
opportunities afforded by the sharing economy.
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For many parts of Ireland not served by the traditional hospitality industry, home sharing is
giving these communities a way to benefit more from tourism, particularly from visitors who wish
to venture beyond Dublin to spend time exploring the countryside. Many rural communities
shrink outside of traditional holiday periods as people with country or seaside homes close them
up for winter and depart for cities. These latent assets and their unrealized economic potential
are now being tapped through short-term holiday rentals, helping to keep these communities
vibrant throughout the year. We see evidence of the tourism season lengthening: seasonal
businesses operating for longer, new food offerings launching, and greater investment in tourist
amenities.
In November 2016, Airbnb released a study of our economic impact in Ireland with a special
focus on its communities beyond Dublin City and County. The findings “clearly illustrate the
positive impact which the sharing economy is having on rural Ireland,” Minister for Arts,
Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs, Heather Humphreys TD commented upon the
launch. Between September 2015 and August 2016, the dates covered by this study, 6,000
hosts beyond Dublin City and County welcomed 331,000 inbound guests, typically earning
about €2,700. The average host age beyond the Dublin area is 47, and far more hosts are
women than men: 67 percent of all hosts beyond the Dublin area are women (versus 60 percent
of hosts within Dublin). Eight percent of hosts in these outlying areas are retired, and the
average number of years they have lived in their hometowns is 20.
€22million
IncomeearnedbyAirbnbhosts
outsideDublinCityandCounty
We are grateful to Failte Ireland, the country’s National Tourism Development Authority, for the
ability to partner with them toward identifying ways in which home sharing can contribute to the
success of regional tourism campaigns. Our latest collaboration is on Failte Ireland’s “Ancient
East” campaign, highlighting 5,000 years of history, all accessible within just a few days spent
outside greater Dublin. Airbnb will launch a digital storytelling campaign profiling local residents
and hosts across four of Ireland’s rural counties.
In addition to supporting rural Ireland through home sharing, Airbnb also looks for ways to
support Ireland’s national conversation about technology and how to foster more start-ups and
entrepreneurship outside of Dublin, such as through our sponsorship of National Digital Week in
2016.
6
Study dates September 2015 through August 2016.
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ITALY
Faye,Tuscany
Mother of two wonderful girls, Faye and her husband have chosen to live in Italy on the Tuscan
hills because she loves nature and was looking for a new beginning after many years spent
abroad.
It all started in 1999 when the couple undertook a complete restoration of the Lavacchio Farm,
returning it to productivity. Situated on the top of Montefiesole's hill,
Lavacchio Farm
is just 18
km from Florence and is a typical family business, surrounded by an enchanting series of rolling
hills covered with olive groves and vineyards, located between the towns of Sieci and
Pontassieve.
Since restoring the farm to productivity, Faye and her family have applied the best traditions to
the production of organic wine and olive oil, combining old handcrafted methods with the most
modern techniques. In the park of the farm’s main house is a centuries-old cedar of Lebanon,
which has become the symbol of the farm. Lavacchio Farm has been one of the first to join the
programs of organic production, based on the philosophy that Faye has always pursued: to
harmonize the farm’s activities with the balance set by nature. She is happy to share her
passion for organic products and her km0 philosophy with her Airbnb guests.
With more UNESCO World Heritage Sites than almost any other country and thousands of small
villages dotting its countryside from north to south, Italy has immense potential to use home
sharing to democratize tourism, involving more people and more communities in the tourism
industry while at the same time, relieving some the pressure from the increasing flows of tourists
to its largest cities. As former mayor of Rome and Airbnb advisor Francesco Rutelli has
observed: “You’ve got Rome, you’ve got Florence, you’ve got Venice, but you’ve also got
hundreds and hundreds of destinations that are tiny cities that are wonderful
places—countryside, seaside, mountains that are absolutely unique in the world. So a sharing
approach for the tourism in our county is also very, very positive for the economy.”
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74%
Year-over-yeargrowthinguest
arrivalsinruralareas
€72.3million
Incomeearnedbyruralhosts
Agri-food is incredibly important to Italy’s global image and its economy, accounting for around 8
percent of the country’s GDP. Italy is the first in Europe for PDO, PGI and TSG products and is
7
the world’s leading wine producer. Through our “Made in Italy” campaign, Airbnb will support the
Italian agri-food industry and the unique cultural heritage it represents. Made in Italy will
promote genuine Italian food and call out food products that pretend to be Italian. We will
customize trips to the country’s rural areas and organize visits to the leading producers of
authentic Italian food. Guests will speak with local farmers about Italian food growth and
production. Our goal for the campaign is to provide tourists with tools to become more
conscious consumers of genuine Italian food products, preserving a tradition to help Italy build a
better future.
Italy’s agriturismi
, country houses and estates that grow produce or make food or wine, are a
major asset as interest in agritourism grows. Airbnb’s “Small Villages” campaign is designed to
promote tourism beyond Italy’s famous cities to these far less populous areas where tourism
spending can make a significant difference. Home sharing gives guests a way to linger where
they historically have had no accommodations due to an absence of hotels, and provides an
infusion of revenue which, even if seasonal, can help sustain a village throughout the year.
One such village, Civita di Bagnoregio in Viterbo Province, is home to just six residents during
the wintertime. Known as “the dying city” for its geographic isolation, the small village is
connected to the surrounding countryside by a one-kilometer bridge suspended at a height of 70
meters (perhaps emblematic of a challenge facing most rural Italian communities in the form of
a lack of efficient transport). In 2016, Airbnb’s Italian community collected more than 2,000
signatures to support the village's candidacy as a World Heritage Site, and Civita is now
short-listed for this designation.
We are excited about the next round of communities we will be promoting for the Small Villages
campaign. The Italian Ministry of Culture declared 2017 the year of Borghi (“small village”), and
Airbnb is supporting the effort by investing further in the revitalization of more small villages
beyond Civita, as well as designing a nationwide marketing campaign to help promote
non-urban travel circuits.
7
PDO = Protected designation of origin; PGI = Protected Geographical Indication); and TGS = Traditional Speciality Guaranteed.
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As our co-founder and Chief Product Officer Joe Gebbia said at the launch of the Small Villages
campaign, the aim “is to celebrate the heritage of these areas through art and design, while
providing concrete ways for the towns to sustain their cultures and traditions.” In early 2017, we
worked with Civita’s Mayor to transform one of its historic buildings into an artists’ colony and
Airbnb listing. “Casa d’Artista” is the first public building to be offered through the Airbnb
platform, and Mayor Francesc Bigiotti is the first sitting mayor to become an Airbnb host.
Revenue from bookings will help support the building’s maintenance and fund other
preservation projects in the village.
SPAIN
Francesc,PalmadeMallorca
Francesc is a freelance web designer who decided to quit the city for rural life and is now living
on the outskirts of the municipality of Palma de Mallorca and hosting travelers through Airbnb.
Airbnb opened a door of alternative opportunity for Francesc. While he was living in Berlin three
years ago, he discovered the world of sustainable living and decided to go back to his native
island of Mallorca to create his own small oasis. His reference for rural life is his great
grandfather, who was the last member of his family to work in agriculture.
Francesc bought a piece of land and a house in poor condition and has since rebuilt it with his
own hands. He owns a henhouse and a vegetable garden and hopes that one day, his home
will be totally self sufficient. At the moment, he lives alone and lists one spare room on Airbnb.
The income allows him to pursue this dream of a rural life.
At his home, Francesc’s guests find an atmosphere of peace and harmony. For many of them, it
is an opportunity to help harvest crops or gather eggs for their meals for the first time! And for
Francesc, home sharing is enrichment—a way to create meaningful relationships across
cultures and an opportunity to meet travelers of different backgrounds who might also share his
own philosophy of life.
Spain’s interior reflects many of the trends afflicting rural areas around the world: agricultural
jobs gradually being replaced by automation and dwindling economic opportunities to keep
young people and families in the area, sending them to cities to find work and leaving behind an
aging population at increasing risk of social exclusion. In Spain, spotty broadband service in
many rural areas also complicates efforts to expand tourism beyond cities and leverage it to
rejuvenate the countryside.
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According to a recent study by the Spanish Federation of Municipalities, half of Spanish rural
jurisdictions already are at risk of extinction caused by depopulation: ¨There are already 2,652
villages that have less than 500 inhabitants. Of these, 1,286 (almost two out of 10 Spanish
municipalities) have less than 100 registered residents. This is 48 more than in 2015, and 358
more than in 2000.¨ In all, according to the study, nearly 5,000 Spanish towns and villages are
8
suffering the consequence of aging populations and little to no generational change. A few
years ago, European and US media covered the trend of whole villages in Spain being put up
for sale. Across Spain, more than 3 million homes are empty.
9 10
Spanish policymakers have made a priority of developing smart policies that will yield more
economic opportunities to bring young people back to rural areas and support older citizens still
living there. Rural towns have limited resources to equip and market their destinations, and
digital tools and sharing economy platforms can amplify the impact of smart policies. As
Francesc’s experience illustrates, home sharing is providing one such opportunity as a stable
source of income where such sources otherwise are scarce, while also helping to bring tourism
to destinations trying to market themselves to international travelers.
Later this year, Airbnb will begin partnering with our host community, other sharing and digital
economy brands, policymakers and rural towns on an initiative to support the sustainable
development and promotion of innovative rural destinations. The “Lab de Destinos Rurales”
(“Rural Destination Lab”) will aim to develop smart responses to the main challenges
confronting Spain’s rural destinations.
€20.2million
Incomeearnedbyruralhostsin2015
€40.9million
Incomeearnedbyruralhostsin2016
Spain is home to one of the smaller Airbnb rural communities, but growth has been steady: rural
listings have increased 63 percent year-over-year while guest arrivals have grown by 110
percent. A majority of rural Spanish hosts, 54 percent, are women and the average age of rural
hosts is 46, versus an average age of 43 for city hosts.
8
Spanish Federation of Municipalities, “Rural depopulation in Spain 2016,” February 7, 2017.
9
Example, example, example.
10
The Guardian, “Scandal of Europe’s 11m empty homes,” February 23, 2014.
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Asia-Pacific
AUSTRALIA
Sharyn,UpperLansdowne,NewSouthWales
Sharyn is a grandmother and aged pensioner living on a peaceful block with scenic views of the
volcanic peaks and sandstone escarpment of Coorabakh National Park. She is an author of
three published books and has won many awards for her short stories. A nature lover and
environmental activist, she also has worked hard to develop this property to be wildlife-friendly,
as well as creating vegetable, fruit, and herb gardens, to live in an environmentally responsible
way.
Occasionally sharing her home on Airbnb helps Sharyn pay for essential services on the
property that she cannot do herself, like slashing (mowing the grass and leaving it as mulch).
Without this income, Sharyn would not be able to continue living in the place and community
that she loves.
Her guests stay in the main bedroom of her home, sharing her kitchen and living areas and the
popular sunny verandah, as if with friends. They come from all over the world, many from city
backgrounds, and from the countless conversations, interactions and appreciative reviews,
Sharyn knows that Airbnb hosting like this is a unique way for visitors to learn about her
country’s rural culture, wildlife, and sustainable living.
Across regional and remote Australia, communities are grappling with how best to respond to a
series of significant, intertwined challenges. The stubborn gap in income, employment and
economic opportunity between the city and the country. The exodus of people, particularly
young people, leaving in search of better opportunities and services. The increasing frequency
and severity of extreme weather events such as floods and droughts. The dependency of local
businesses and economies on volatile commodity markets.
While Sydney is Airbnb’s fifth largest market in the world, the Australian countryside is now
home to roughly half of our community in the country overall. Last year, 50 percent of all unique
Airbnb listings in Australia were located in the country, up from 47 percent in 2015.
Year-over-year growth in listings in the countryside was 79 percent.
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A majority of all Airbnb guest arrivals in Australia last year, 56 percent, were at listings beyond
urban areas, up from 53 percent in 2015. The percentage of total Australian host income now
going to hosts in the countryside is likewise approaching the halfway mark: in 2016, it was 49
percent, up from 45 percent in 2015.
Without the cost or delay of having to build any new infrastructure, attractions or amenities,
Airbnb is making it easier and more affordable for tourists to explore regional communities—a
priority for Australia’s government, whose latest International Visitors Survey finds that regional
Australia has seen a 29 percent increase in international tourist arrivals and spending over the
past three years. This democratization of tourism is injecting new revenue and catalyzing
growth. A recent Deloitte Access Economics report found that Airbnb contributed $1.6 billion to
Australia’s GDP and supported more than 14,000 jobs.
By creating a new regional revenue stream and boosting tourism in Australia’s countryside,
Airbnb also is helping local communities diversify their economies, reducing their exposure to
downturns in traditional, volatile sectors such as agriculture and mining.
AUD$287million
Totalhostingincomeforruralhostsin2016
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1.7million
Guestarrivalsatnon-metrolistingsin
2016
127%
Year-over-yeargrowthinguestarrivals
atnon-metrolistings
While Airbnb does have a host community in the sparsely populated Australian Outback, most
of our non-metro host community extends along the country’s coastline: in the east along the
Great Barrier Reef, in the southeast stretching from north of Brisbane to west of Melbourne, and
in the southwest along the coast extending outward from Perth. We also have a significant
non-metro host community in Tasmania. A majority—53 percent—of Airbnb hosts beyond
Australia’s cities are women.
Australia’s Outback is one of the least populated areas in the world, with a handful of major
centers (e.g., Alice Springs, Birdsville, Broken Hill and Coober Pedy, among others) that service
its three main sectors: pastoralism (running cattle, sheep and other livestock), mining and
tourism. Given its remoteness and the great distance between towns, with some roads only
accessible by four-wheel drive vehicles, travelers to the Outback often stay in one of these more
urban areas before striking out across the desert interior. Airbnb's Outback hosts provide classic
Australian hospitality and are quick to give advice on how to enjoy the stark beauty of the
landscape and stay safe in the inhospitable deserts of Australia's Red Centre.
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INDIA
MayaPatel,Self-EmployedWomen’sAssociationofIndia(SEWA)
Maya Patel, one of the SEWA hosts, had a heartwarming response from her very first Airbnb
guest, Daniel, who came from Spain. Having little knowledge of English, Maya was worried
about her ability to communicate with international guests. But she and Daniel quickly
developed their own sign language through hand gestures.
Maya says, “He asked me to wake him up at 10:00 am and he had breakfast with our family. He
even helped my mother-in-law grind spices and wheat. He loved our food, especially the tea, so
much so that he had tea multiple times a day. I am happy that Daniel bhai (“brother”) liked our
home and left us a very gracious review.” As he was leaving, Daniel told Maya that her family’s
warm hospitality made him feel at home.
Learning from her first guest experience, Maya is planning to purchase mosquito repellent and
make more repairs in her washroom in order to create a more comfortable home for her guests.
Airbnb’s work in India sums up many of the challenges—but also the greatest rewards—that we
have encountered in helping areas beyond cities realize the economic benefits of travel. Home
sharing is beginning to provide livelihoods in India’s rural communities where women in
particular face otherwise extremely limited options to provide for themselves and their children.
In the six months since we formalized our pilot project with the Self-Employed Women’s
Association (SEWA) in late 2016, we have made exciting progress in supporting the economic
empowerment of rural women through home sharing. SEWA represents 2 million self-employed
women living primarily in India’s rural areas. The focus of this partnership on women’s economic
empowerment was the first of its kind for Airbnb, and one we plan to use as a model in other
parts of the world.
For the pilot project in the Indian state of Gujarat, the Airbnb team arranged for the local SEWA
hosts to gain understanding of best practices through visits with some of our top-rated, most
experienced hosts in India. We also arranged hospitality and skills training workshops to support
the SEWA hosts in listing their homes on Airbnb.
In addition to language barriers and low levels of technological and financial literacy, payment
processes were a key obstacle for which Airbnb, in collaboration with the SEWA hosts,
developed workarounds. Airbnb’s payment process needed to be revised to accept Permanent
Account Numbers (PAN) for Trusts that Indian organizations like SEWA use for tax
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accountability—an example of the nature of initial barriers we are seeing and gradually working
through to help travel benefit more people and more communities.
Coinciding with the release of this report, we are pleased to announce that all eight SEWA
homes in this pilot project are now listed on Airbnb and accepting bookings, and the SEWA
hosts already have welcomed more than 10 guests in the past two months! Encouraged by the
experience of current SEWA hosts, 10 more SEWA members have come forwards to list their
homes on Airbnb towards the end of this month. We look forward to expanding the initiative
beyond the Gujarat pilot to include SEWA members in other parts of India.
Our second collaboration in India, with the state of Andhra Pradesh, also focuses on providing
livelihood opportunities, in this case for rural artisans. For artisans who are identified by the
state’s tourism board as potential hosts, Airbnb arranges training in hospitality standards and
offers support in creating truly unique experiences for travelers.
In our newest partnership, Airbnb is thrilled to be working with the World Bank Group, a leading
international development institution and one of the largest combined finance and technical
assistance providers in tourism development, on initiatives including a study on the
development impacts of home sharing, and pilot projects in areas we jointly identify as emerging
tourist destinations. Airbnb also will support hospitality skills training for new hosts in the
Asia-Pacific region and encourage demand through destination marketing. These joint efforts
will focus on both emerging destinations in rural areas and marginalized areas within cities that
governments are looking to revitalize. While we have discussed India and Sri Lanka as possible
initial project markets, the scope of the partnership is regional with the option to extend it to
others.
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JAPAN
Keiko’sfamily,Wakayama
Wakayama prefecture is well known for its divine mountains, forestry and fruit farms. Peaches,
plums, persimmon, strawberries and other kinds of fruit are grown in the region. Keiko’s family
mainly farms peaches. Her husband moved to Wakayama about 20 years ago, and after
starting with a smaller patch of land, he too has become a successful peach farmer.
Keiko and her family used to accept volunteer workers from all over the world to help on the
farm during their peak season, all living together like a family in their home. In 2015, a French
couple who were volunteering on the farm introduced them to Airbnb. After taking in guests for
years, it seemed natural to Keiko’s family to start hosting through Airbnb.
They liked it from the start. Compared to the intensity of hosting volunteer workers, staying
together, working together and eating every meal together, the Airbnb relationship between host
and guest gives them a more balanced life. Some guests come to their listing just to relax and
enjoy the beautiful scenery, while some do like to help with the farming. Keiko’s two small
children love to play with foreign guests, which their parents believe is good for their education.
Hosting on Airbnb also provides Keiko’s family with extra income to help them bridge the gap
between the investments they have to make for a successful peach harvest and the actual
harvest time.
Even when guests stay for a short period, Keiko says, we trust them and they trust us as we
open up our home. By doing so, everyone can be like a family and build a sense of belonging
that helps make Keiko’s family lives more fulfilling.
Over the past year, five million Airbnb guests arrived at all 47 prefectures in Japan, where the
National Diet just enacted legislation giving the green light for home sharing, ensuring that
Airbnb can continue to help revitalize Japan’s rural economies through the benefits of tourism.
The focus of our rural revitalization efforts in Japan has been helping local governments rebuild
their economies after natural disasters and retain their workforces by providing opportunities
residents might otherwise feel compelled to move to cities to find.
A longtime major hub for mining and steel production, Kamaishi City had largely transitioned to
the service industry by the late 1980s due to the decline of Japan’s steel industry and the
closure of the city’s foundries. Then in 2011, Kamaishi was devastated by the Great East Japan
Earthquake and tsunami. Kamaishi also faces the serious challenges of a declining birthrate,
aging population, and as is the case nationwide, a rising number of empty homes; Japan overall
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is predicted to have 20 million empty homes within the next two decades. Kamaishi’s
11
population is projected to decline from 36,078 to 21,503 by 2040. Even so, there have been
12
encouraging developments: imports through Kamaishi’s port have increased dramatically, the
Hashino blast furnace has been registered as a World Heritage Site, and new roads have
opened.
Airbnb is proud to partner with Kamaishi City on its efforts to revitalize its economy through its
“Open City Strategy” to increase civic participation and expand the network of those who are
connected with the community. We are grateful to play a role in this effort by empowering more
people to share their homes and helping Kamaishi scale up its accommodations for the 2019
Rugby World Cup.
Our first act was to arrange for prospective local hosts to meet with experienced hosts from
other prefectures to hear directly from them about best practices, especially for home sharing on
farms. We also created a Kamaishi City Guidebook in partnership with local high school
students. The Guidebook emphasizes the best spots from which to enjoy Kamaishi’s natural
beauty, the history of the steel industry, and traditional matsuri festivals in which locals take
great pride.
Another Airbnb effort to support revitalization of Japan’s countryside, our Yoshino Cedar House
was constructed in collaboration with the village of Yoshino and respected Tokyo-based
architect Go Hasegawa using traditional design techniques and local materials. The listing is
managed by the Yoshino community and proceeds support the community.
While our host community outside Japan’s urban areas still represents a small fraction of our
overall community here, their numbers have grown considerably within the past year.
Twenty-two hundred non-urban Airbnb listings in 2015 more than doubled to 5,300 in 2016.
Guest arrivals more than tripled from 70,200 to 257,500. Host income nearly quadrupled, from
¥666 million to ¥2.5 billion.
141%
Year-over-yeargrowthinnon-urban
listings
267%
Year-over-yeargrowthinguestarrivals
atnon-urbanlistings
Beyond Japan’s cities, a majority of Japanese Airbnb hosts—53 percent—are women, a marked
difference from Japan’s cities in which 56 percent of our hosts are men. The average age of our
11
Bloomberg, “Why 8 Million Homes Lie Empty in Japan,” September 20, 2015.
12
http://kamaishi.webcrow.jp/.
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non-urban hosts is 42, with 11 percent of our non-urban hosts being age 60 or older, whereas
the average age of Airbnb urban hosts in Japan is 38, with just 5.3 percent of urban hosts being
age 60 or older.
A recent Urban Land Institute panel of technology and real estate experts in Tokyo "agreed that
restoring civic pride to provincial towns and villages and including the population in the benefits
of tourism were the crucial factors in bringing life back” to Japan’s countryside and coastal
areas. Online booking platforms such as Airbnb, one expert noted, are critical to this effort
13
because the fees are so much smaller, with hosts keeping much more of the income.
KOREA
Airbnb’s recently signed memorandum of understanding with Korea’s Gangwon-do commits us
to helping the province scale up its available accommodations, including accommodations
outside its cities, as it prepares to host the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Games. “Through this
agreement, I am hopeful that the promotion of [...] Gangwon’s tourism marketing, and improving
quality of rural lodging facilities gives strength to solving the accommodation shortage for the
Olympics and boosting local tourism,” State Governor Choi Moon-Soon said at the January
signing ceremony.
14
The partnership is the latest of many collaborations between Airbnb and local governments
facing the prospect of hosting major events for which they don’t have enough places for visitors
to stay. Airbnb provides an alternative to building permanent infrastructure—or at least, building
as much permanent infrastructure—that can tax local treasuries and the environment, while
helping communities take full economic advantage of the hosting opportunity. We work with
local governments to help them put their strongest foot forward on the global stage.
Gangwon-do already is the leading holiday destination for Koreans, but officials expect 400,000
foreign visitors to attend the 2018 Winter Games.
The agreement builds off our previous work with the province of Chungcheongnam-do to
promote non-urban tourism and scale up accommodations for Korea’s 97th National Sports
Festival. That agreement included cultivating new hosts in the provincial countryside, applying
analytics to reviews to help hosts provide better services, and promoting the local culture. For
that partnership, Airbnb became the first non-Korean company to receive the Chungnam
Governor's Award for Appreciation and Excellence in early 2017.
13
Urban Land, Airbnb, Smaller Hotel Operators Helping to Revive Japan’s Hinterlands, May 30, 2017.
14
Official press release here.
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106%
Year-over-yeargrowthinlistings
beyondmetropolitanareas
194%
Year-over-yeargrowthinguestarrivals
atnon-metrolistings
Our newest agreement with Gangwon-do also includes the development of a Guidebook to help
visitors experience more of the province, and support for our local host and guest community in
case of natural disasters.
Other Airbnb partnerships in Korea that look beyond its metropolitan areas include our work with
the state Chamber of Commerce and Ministry of Agriculture, which oversees non-urban home
sharing and bed-and-breakfasts, to generally increase hospitality options and revitalize the rural
economy. We were gratified by the Jeju Governor Won Hee-ryong’s recent endorsement of
home sharing and Airbnb (“I should list my extra bedrooms on Airbnb”), as Jeju is the leading
holiday destination for Korea’s city dwellers. Jeju Airbnb hosts welcomed 180,000 guest
15
arrivals in 2016.
Airbnb’s hosts beyond Korea’s cities take enormous pride in showing visitors their homes and
what makes their communities special. Korean women make up a greater share of our
non-urban hosts, at 53 percent, which is slightly higher than the percentage of hosts in Korean
cities who are women: 51 percent.
15
Source.
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TAIWAN
Steven,Guanxi,HsinschuCounty
Steven is an Airbnb Superhost living in the Guanxi area of Taiwan’s Hsinschu county. Two
years ago, he left his high-paying job in Taipei to return to Hsinchu to take care of his family’s
home, which he lists on Airbnb. The home is more than 100 years old, overlooks a rice field,
and was a private school before it became a family dwelling. “I wanted to build a system to
sustain my old house,” Steven said. “And so I began using Airbnb.”
Steven has since hosted more than 100 guests, all of whom delight in the peaceful, tranquil
setting and the kindness of their host. While just about an hour’s drive from Taipei, Steven’s
home is nestled in the Hsinschu countryside among farms, rice fields and historic villages. Since
returning there, Steven has dedicated himself to drawing more visitors to the area. He started
the Guanxi Art Festival and the Niulan Theater Group to promote the arts in the community. He
also plans trips for his guests and other visitors, leading them to vegetable farms to pick fresh
produce and exploring the streets of the old villages in the area.
Airbnb is working actively with Taiwanese officials to transform the island’s eastern coast into an
international tourism destination with the goal of providing new opportunities for residents of
coastal communities through increased tourism spending.
We have partnered with the local governments of two beautiful coastal areas, Hualien and
Taitung, to promote travel to minsu
in Hualien and Taitung (minsu
is the local reference for
bed-and-breakfasts). Notably, the Chairman of the Hualien Travel Association was quoted
commending Airbnb’s efforts in promoting travel to Hualien: “The majority of online travel
agencies usually asked (sic) hotels and minsu in Hualien to lower the price or inform minsu they
are going to increase commission. Airbnb is totally different and has a vision. Hualien tourism
industry and minsu
operators are truly appreciated (sic) that Airbnb is willing to invest marketing
resources in Hualien and Taitung and present beautiful Eastern Coast to tourists around the
world.”
16
103%
Year-over-yeargrowthinlistings
beyondmetropolitanareas
116%
Year-over-yeargrowthinguestarrivals
atnon-metrolistings
16
www.ksnews.com, October 4, 2016.
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Total guest arrivals at non-metro listings in Taiwan have jumped from 89,100 in 2015 to 192,400
in 2016. Host income from non-metro listings has more than doubled, year over year, from
NT$101 million in 2015 to NT$210.8 million in 2016.
Through our partnership with the Taitung and Hsinchu governments, an effort to enhance
business competencies among Taiwanese young people and minsu
operators, we also are
designing a series of programs for these groups. In Taiwan’s non-metropolitan areas, the
average age of Airbnb Taiwanese hosts is 38, making this our youngest non-metropolitan host
community of all 11 studied for this report. Women make up the majority of Taiwanese hosts in
non-metropolitan areas, at 53 percent.
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Americas
CANADA
Laurel,RockyViewCounty,Alberta
Laurel is the owner of Spirit Winds Ranch, a lifelong horse lover and an Airbnb Superhost. She
started hosting on Airbnb as a way to support her life on the farm and to help fund the Spirit
Winds Horse Centre. Hosting has allowed her to maintain the farm and dedicate her life to the
land and the horses.
Laurel invites her guests to work the horses, on the farm, and take part in her Equine Assisted
Learning program, a series of holistic equine and nature programs for children with anxiety,
ADHD and sensory processing issues. Her work involves saving and rehabilitating older horses
and providing them with a meaningful and peaceful life. She grew up on a ranch, so hosting
comes naturally: her family always welcomed and entertained people on their farm. Airbnb has
allowed her to continue this tradition as well as share her knowledge.
Airbnb also has become Laurel's retirement plan, and it has given her the freedom to quit her
other work and dedicate her life to hosting on the farm and rehabilitating horses. With her
income from hosting, Laurel plans to continue enhancing the farm, contributing to her local
economy and sharing her life on the ranch with her guests.
As Canada’s urban economy becomes more knowledge- and technology-driven, Canada’s rural
economy remains heavily dependent upon agriculture and natural resources, sectors prone to
the effects of climate change, automation and fluctuations in commodity prices. Young adults in
rural areas face fewer job prospects and younger, less established farmers face slim profit
margins and struggle with the debt required to keep farms running year to year. Many young
adults in rural areas simply move to cities, a dynamic Canada’s new leadership is now trying to
address, often speaking to the goal of helping the country transition between its natural
resource economy and its natural "resourcefulness.”
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The emerging urban-rural age gap may be reflected in Airbnb’s host community. The average
17
age of our rural hosts in Canada is 48, whereas the average age of our urban hosts is 40, one
of the widest age gaps of the 11 countries studied for this report.
Home sharing is helping the farmers, ranchers and energy- and mining-dependent households
of rural Canada lead and sustain the lives they want to live in the communities they love.
Fifty-nine percent of rural Canadian Airbnb hosts are women (compared to 56 percent of urban
hosts in Canada), the second highest percentage of rural women hosts of any country included
in this report after the US.
140%
Year-over-yeargrowthinguest
arrivals
93%
Year-over-yeargrowthinrurallistings
17
Statistics Canada, March 3, 2017.
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Income earned by Airbnb’s rural Canadian hosts also is growing steadily. Rural hosts earned
CAD$66.8 million through Airbnb in 2016, more than double the total from 2015: CAD$28.4
million. As more evidence points to how home sharing provides more economic opportunity and
helps hosts in rural areas diversify their income, our hope is to work with Canada’s local
governments and NGOs to promote home sharing in the country’s more rural areas as we are
working with them in Canada’s cities.
LATINAMERICA
AdharaLuzandDaniel,AltérdoChão,Pará,Brazil
In 2014, we decided to leave São Paulo for a change of scenery and energy and moved to Alter
do Chão, in Pará. It was the best decision we could have made! Adhara was born here and her
parents founded the NGO Saúde e Alegria (Health and Joy). She ended up growing up between
riverbank communities and the natural life of the forest and the Tapajós River. Daniel was born
in São Paulo, near the Tietê River, in a totally urban environment. This contrast between our
extremely diverse childhoods has always been very rich for us.
After living together for three years in the city of São Paulo, we decided to travel for eight
months, backpacking between Asia and Europe. When we returned, the big city no longer made
sense for us. Everything seemed weird and deep down, we knew we needed nature close by in
order to be happy and fulfilled.
And so we decided to live in the Amazon! Daniel closed down his film production company and
Adhara let go of the freelance gigs she was working on. Adhara already worked in experience
trips and tourism, which eased everything during the transition. Airbnb ended up being the
perfect complement for our jobs in tourism, because in addition to the itineraries and trips, we
were able to start hosting as well, gaining extra income. Our home ended up becoming a
reference in the town and we helped out a lot of friends who later joined the platform, as well.
Our work is to create a safe and beautiful bridge between the city life and the forest life,
sensitizing people about just how essential it is for nature to be balanced so we as humans can
be balanced as well. We like to play in reverse: the city is exotic, not the forest! Humanity has
gone through over 10,000 years in nature and only a handful of decades in the cities. So, the
city is the exotic one, right?
Rural areas in Latin America and the Caribbean face challenges that are similar to the US but
are exacerbated by the staggering regional economy. Many who live in rural areas in the region
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depend on informal economic activities; lack infrastructure and access to social services
including education and health care; and are disproportionately impacted by natural disasters
and climate change. Other challenges for citizens outside Latin America’s sprawling cities
include a severe lag in access to technology, which represses rural entrepreneurship.
Encompassing Mexico, South America, Central America and the Caribbean (including Cuba),
Latin America is Airbnb’s fastest-growing market. Our growth in Latin American rural areas is
keeping pace with our growth across the region as a whole. In Brazil, for example, rural host
income has increased threefold from R$8.3 million in 2015 to R$25.2 million in 2016, and guest
arrivals in rural areas likewise have more than tripled, from 27,800 in 2015 to 94,400 in 2016.
The same is true for Argentina: rural host income has increased threefold from ARS$8.9 million
in 2015 to ARS$30 million in 2016, while guest arrivals have quadrupled from 5,600 in 2015 to
22,300 in 2016.
220%and191%
Year-over-yeargrowthinrurallistings,ArgentinaandBrazil
298%and240%
Year-over-yeargrowthinguestarrivalsatrurallistings,Argentina
andBrazil
Both countries see great opportunity in alternative tourism to their more rural areas, including for
their own citizens residing in their cities. In Argentina, the focus is on agricultural tourism,
drawing more attention to the country’s farms, estancias
and fincas
(stock farms and ranches).
In Brazil, the focus is on promoting ecological travel, leveraging the country’s astonishing
natural sights from the world’s largest rainforest, to the largest wetlands, to the largest waterfalls
system. We have partnered with Brazil’s Cataratas Group to ease and promote travel to
parklands managed by the Group, which include the famous Iguazu Falls. Airbnb’s work with
Brazilian officials began when we helped the new city of Palmas and its rural surroundings scale
up its accommodations for the first World Indigenous Games in 2015.
Brazil is also the focus of innovative new payment options developed by Airbnb that make it
easier for rural hosts to benefit from growing interest in tourism. Because only a small
percentage of Brazil’s population have internationally accepted credit cards, Airbnb began
accepting payments through local credit cards (i.e., in Brazilian Reais), in installments, or
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through Boleto Bancário, a coded bank payment form that can be paid in local banks, lottery
stores and post offices. Recognizing that we need to keep our approaches consistent with how
people are used to living and earning, we are experimenting with ways to accommodate other
payment systems that are commonly used in Latin American countries.
Airbnb has an office in Brazil and is excited to be opening new offices in Argentina and Mexico
soon, effectively quadrupling our staff in the region within the next two years and increasing our
ability to help Latin American governments engage in destination marketing and open their
countrysides to travelers.
UNITEDSTATES
AlanColleyandDabneyTompkins,Tiller,Oregon
When Alan and Dabney built a replica fire lookout tower on private land surrounded by the
Umpqua National Forest, they intended it to be a weekend getaway from Portland. Then they
decided to quit their jobs and move to the lookout to live off the grid. To their surprise, the
couple quickly befriended people living in communities in the South Umpqua Basin.
Alan and Dabney’s lookout has become a popular Airbnb
listing
booked by more than 150
guests each summer. Modeled after US Forest Service fire lookout towers built in the 1900s and
updated with modern features including running water, the listing is located 10 miles outside of
the unincorporated town of Tiller, Oregon. The entire town, save for the church, fire station and
a couple of private properties, was recently sold to a private buyer.
Alan and Dabney feel strongly that rural tourism can generate jobs, commerce and growth.
Their lookout tower is completely booked from May to October, bringing guests from around the
US and as far away from South Korea and Guatemala. The listing serves as a launching point
for day trips to national and state parks and nearby Oregon communities. Seven couples have
gotten engaged at the listing, and those are just the proposals Alan and Dabney know about!
This year, Alan and Dabney are hosting two weekend retreats that will bring dozens of people to
camp on the land around the lookout tower and feature cooking, campfire music, yoga and other
activities led by area residents. They hope the retreats become a catalyst for tourism in the
region. While the physical distance from their neighbors is now much greater than when they
lived in Portland, the couple says they know their neighbors far better in rural Oregon.
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Airbnb was founded in San Francisco in the midst of the Great Recession as a way for people to
turn their greatest expense, their home, into a more fully used asset—a way to cover the
household expenses, pay the rent or mortgage, and even avoid eviction or foreclosure. Hosts
also use their Airbnb income to support their own travel or entrepreneurship.
Even as rural areas of the US struggle with record-low mobility and other lingering effects of the
recession, their technological future seems more fraught than positive as jobs in manufacturing,
energy and eventually trucking get automated, while funding for startups and entrepreneurship
increasingly flows to cities. Airbnb, in contrast, is a technology platform that empowers people
18
rather than displacing them. In addition to hosts keeping 97 percent of the listing price, up to 50
percent of guest spending in the US occurs in the neighborhoods where they stay. By giving
more people and more communities the chance to benefit directly from growing interest in
tourism, home sharing can be part of the solution for America’s rural areas.
$494million
Earnedbyruralhostsinthepastyear
19
In every US state, our rural hosts’ Airbnb earnings represent a sizable percentage of typical
rural household income, ranging from five percent to as high as 20 percent in states such as
Hawaii and California (20.3 percent and 20.1 percent, respectively). While many parts of the
country beyond cities still lack Airbnb listings, guest demand has risen steadily, suggesting more
room for growth: 3.3 million guest arrivals occurred at rural listings in the US over the past year,
a year-over-year increase of 138 percent.
Forty-six of the 50 US states have seen at least 100-percent year-over-year growth, and 19
have seen 200-percent growth or higher. While parts of the US known for their resorts and
national parks, such as the Mountain West, Northeast and West Virginia, have the highest
percentages of Airbnb hosts in rural areas, the states seeing the fastest year-over-year growth
are in the Midwest and South: states such as Oklahoma (434 percent year-over-year growth),
Illinois (330 percent), Arkansas (309 percent), Missouri (298 percent) and Alabama (288
percent).
In less than 10 years, our growing rural host community has overtaken the presence of
corporate hotel chains in rural America and unlike the chains, puts the economic returns of
tourism growth directly into people’s pockets. The availability of certain types of data in the US
allows us to illustrate how rural investment by big hotels compares with the presence of the
Airbnb community. Many rural areas have almost no hospitality infrastructure at all, while in
18
CityLab, February 2, 2017, and Kauffman Foundation, “State of Entrepreneurship 2017.”
19
All Airbnb US data cited in this report, unless otherwise stated, dates to February 1, 2016 to February 1, 2017.
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others that are popular for outdoor recreation, Airbnb expands the economic pie by offering
more options that make travel more accessible. We are thrilled to be partnering with the
National Park Foundation, the official charity of America’s national parks and nonprofit partner to
the National Park Service. Airbnb will work with the Foundation to make it easier for guests to
find accommodations around 10 parks across the country. In 2016, the National Park System
hosted a record-setting 331 million visitors, with the Grand Canyon alone seeing almost 6
million visitors.
18.4%
Ofactivelistingsareinruralareas
12.5%
Ofhotelroomsareinruralareas
In 43 of 50 states, Airbnb’s share of supply (i.e., active listings) in rural areas is greater than
hotels’ share of supply (i.e., rooms). In West Virginia, fully three-fourths of active Airbnb listings
are located in rural areas, while just 32.7 percent of West Virginia hotel rooms are—a 42.3
percentage point gap. In New Hampshire, 71.9 percent of active Airbnb listings are located in
rural areas, while just 33.1 percent of hotel rooms are. In Montana: 64.1 percent to 28.1 percent.
In Wyoming: 65.9 percent to 31.5 percent.
The opportunity we provide our community to leverage growing interest in travel includes
demographics that may face fewer traditional opportunities to earn. The average age of an
Airbnb rural host in the US is 48; the average age of an Airbnb urban host in the US is 42. In 14
states, the average age of our rural hosts is over 50.
The US is also home to our highest percentage of rural women hosts of the countries studied for
this report: 62 percent of all Airbnb hosts in rural America are women, who account for 56
percent of our urban hosts. In eight states, two-thirds or more of rural hosts are women:
Wyoming (69 percent); Alaska and Maine (67 percent); and Ohio, Missouri, Maryland,
Washington and Montana (66 percent).
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Growingourcommunitybeyondcities.
Airbnb’s rural hosts and guests are a vital and vibrant part of our community, and we look
forward to partnering further with local policymakers and NGOs to bring the benefits of home
sharing to more households beyond the world’s cities. While all Airbnb hosts receive the same
company-provided 24/7 support and protections regardless of their location, we are dedicated to
making sure our host trainings, best practices, and programming are tailored to suit their
individual communities’ needs and what makes them special.
Beyond the Airbnb platform, members of our host community in dozens of locations around the
world have self-organized into Home Sharing Clubs that meet regularly to discuss hosting best
practices, work with local businesses, volunteer in their neighborhoods, and advocate with local
policymakers for fair short-term rental rules that allow for responsible home sharing. Of our 168
Home Sharing Clubs launched to date, including 90 in the Americas, 53 in Europe and Africa,
and 25 in the Asia Pacific region, a number of them are based near rural areas and positioned
to welcome and support rural members—including Clubs in the states of Bahia in Brazil,
Maharashtra in India, and Oregon in the US.
As part of our recent commitment to support the establishment of 1,000 Home Sharing Clubs
around the world by the end of 2018, we are investing in new online and remote organizing
resources to reach more hosts in rural areas and help them connect with each other. Every
Home Sharing Club receives our organizing toolkit and a dedicated, hosts-only webpage where
Club members can discuss upcoming events, share content, ask for support, and give advice.
We also provide branding for each Club and through mentoring, generally support their efforts to
realize their vision of impact in their respective communities. But again, we are mindful of the
need to tailor our engagement with each Club based on their specific local goals.
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Disasterresponse.
During and after a disaster, temporary housing for the displaced and for relief workers can be
hard to find. This is especially true for rural areas with less hospitality and other infrastructure
that can accommodate large groups of people; shelters can quickly get overwhelmed.
65
Disasterresponseactivationsgloballysince2012
Inspired by the generosity of some Airbnb hosts who opened their doors to survivors of
Hurricane Sandy in 2012, we launched a Disaster Relief Tool, which makes it simple for hosts to
voluntarily open their homes to displaced survivors and relief workers who are deployed to
support the response. Since that time, we have built a comprehensive Disaster Response
Program that includes the tool and more.
Our travel credit program helps relief organizations quickly secure accommodations. And in
partnership with a growing network of local government and relief agencies including the US
Federal Emergency Management Agency, we provide disaster and emergency preparedness
educational materials to Airbnb hosts, help arrange community emergency preparedness
trainings with local experts, and use Airbnb communication channels to notify hosts and guests
about significant emergencies. Our agreement with Kamaishi City in Japan, which was
devastated by the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami, includes supporting the
local government in disaster response planning.
To date, Airbnb and our host community have responded to 65 disasters including events in
rural areas, from flooding in South Louisiana and Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines, to wildfires
in the mountains of western North Carolina, eastern Tennessee and Fort McMurray, Canada.
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Conclusion.
At Airbnb, we look forward to working with hosts, policymakers and NGOs to thoughtfully extend
the economic and travel opportunities home sharing already is bringing to parts of the world
beyond metropolitan areas. Whether by opening up countryside to travelers through
accommodations that did not previously exist, or scaling accommodations in rural resort areas
so they can welcome more guests, Airbnb helps people and communities benefit from the
economics of tourism in ways they historically have not, and likely otherwise would not.
As rural areas grapple with a difficult combination of old and new economic challenges, the
opportunities for extra income made available through the Airbnb platform can shore up
household budgets and help revitalize whole communities, and these opportunities can never
be automated.
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Methodology.
Countries studied exclusively for this report include: Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada,
France, Italy, Japan, Korea, Spain, Taiwan and the US. Previously published data included for
Ireland.
EUROPE
France, Italy and Spain. We used ESRI’s population density data to define any area outside of
major cities with less than 150 people per square kilometer as “rural.”
Ireland. The mentioned analysis was based on all travel to and within Ireland during the
one-year period from September 2015 through August 2016.
ASIAPACIFIC
Australia, Japan, Korea and Taiwan. We identified listings outside of major urban tourism
markets.
AMERICAS
Canada. We identified listings outside of major Canadian metropolitan areas as “rural.”
Brazil and Argentina: We identified listings outside of major urban tourism markets.
US. US data in this report, including the individual-state breakouts, uses internal Airbnb data
covering the period of February 1, 2016 to February 1, 2017. We collected all listings actively
available on the Airbnb platform during this period and their latitude and longitude coordinates.
Using this information, we assigned each listing to the Census block in which it was situated for
the 2010 US Census. We then categorized each listing according to the Census designation of
“Rural,” “Urbanized Area,” and “Urban Cluster.” The Census defines an “Urbanized Area” as a
location with more than 50,000 residents and an “Urban Cluster” as a location with 2,500 to
50,000 residents. For this report, all listings within “Urbanized Areas” and “Urban Clusters”
20
were categorized as “urban” and the rest were categorized as “rural.”
20
https://www.census.gov/geo/reference/urban-rural.html
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