Now that Airbnb has rattled the hotel industry, is it only a matter of time before it offers customers longer-term rental options?
The influential West Coast consultant John Burns Real Estate Consulting recently told its newsletter subscribers that it “senses a trend developing” where Airbnb—which is on pace to book 80 million nights in 2015—has its expansion eyes set on becoming part of the apartment market.
The consultant recently conducted an apartment feasibility study for a proposed new building whose developer might include some units devoted to Airbnb users. John Burns suggests that other apartment developers could consider setting aside some units “as a kind of Airbnb rental pool to maximize revenue and market flexibility,” especially when apartment market conditions are soft.
“The key will be having a location that can tap into the burgeoning Airbnb user stream,” the consultant writes.
It remains to be seen whether what Burns has spotted turns out to be a trend or an anecdote. But there’s no denying that since 2008, when it was founded, San Francisco-based Airbnb has become a juggernaut, with listings in more than 34,000 cities and 190 countries. Investors value the company at around $24 billion, according to the New York Times.
The company has also proven itself to be a savvy defender against critics who feel threatened by its growing popularity and insist that its business model unfairly skews the affordable housing market or skirts regulations and taxes enforced on other forms of hospitality.
Airbnb spent heavily last year to defeat a law in San Francisco that would have limited its services there. As proof that it wasn’t materially affecting housing affordability by turning homes into short-term rentals, Airbnb recently wheeled out a report that claimed nearly 80% of its listings in Sealtle are rented less than 90 days a year.
Crain’s New York Business reports that Airbnb has been lobbying New York lawmakers to change rules that limit the number of days an owner or renter in New York City can lease or sublease a home or apartment to under 29 days. Airbnb claims it removed more than 2,000 listings in 2014 after New York State’s attorney general, Eric T. Schneiderman, filed an affidavit that alleged that two-thirds of the apartments listed in the city were illegal sublets.
According to data the company recently made public about its network in New York City, as of Nov. 17, 2015 there were slightly under 36,000 listings on its platform, and the median number of nights booked per listing in the previous year was 42.
Its New York City data also show that hosts there earn a median of $5,110 per year from renting their apartments or homes to visitors. Airbnb characterizes these earnings as “an economic lifeline for families.” The company data show that 72% of its hosts in New York say they depend on this income to stay in their homes.
Related Stories
Multifamily Housing | Oct 6, 2015
Multifamily completions in buildings with 50 or more units continues to climb
The Census Bureau estimates that 255,600 multifamily housing units were completed in 2014 in buildings with at least five or more units, representing a 37.3% increase over the previous year and the highest total in those multi-unit structures since 2009.
Multifamily Housing | Oct 2, 2015
Utilities should do more to give building owners energy use information
Owners of multi-tenant buildings lack basic information.
Multifamily Housing | Oct 1, 2015
Wiel Arets unveils twin, 558-foot mixed-use towers in Bahrain’s capital
The development, Bahrain Bay Tower, will consist of two residential towers connected “by a plinth of retail, office, parking, and public park space.”
Multifamily Housing | Sep 29, 2015
The developer that planned a mosque near Ground Zero now proposes a five-star condo tower instead
Sharif El-Gamal of Soho Properties is looking to cash in while lower Manhattan’s real estate market stays hot.
Multifamily Housing | Sep 28, 2015
Vo Trong Nghia’s 'diamond lotus' will feature sky garden pathways linking high-rises
The 22-story housing complex in Ho Chi Minh City will have façades covered with plants and a rooftop garden that connects the structures.
Multifamily Housing | Sep 23, 2015
Richard Meier unveils design scheme for residential high-rise in Taipei
The sleek and minimalist luxury tower will offer guests and residents views of the iconic Taipei 101.
Multifamily Housing | Sep 16, 2015
Kengo Kuma proposes ‘carved tower’ for downtown Vancouver
The 40-story residential tower, to be built in downtown Vancouver’s West End neighborhood, will have 188 residential units, "with many units within the carved deductions possessing substantially sized patios," according to Vancity Buzz.
Multifamily Housing | Sep 16, 2015
Quarter-acre of land is enough space for an upscale Chicago apartment complex
The building will hold 90 micro apartments, 40 pre-furnished extended-stay hotel rooms, and a small retail space on the ground floor.
Giants 400 | Sep 10, 2015
MILITARY SECTOR GIANTS: Clark Group, HDR, Fluor top rankings of nation's largest military sector AEC firms
BD+C's rankings of the nation's largest military sector design and construction firms, as reported in the 2015 Giants 300 Report
Multifamily Housing | Sep 4, 2015
Seattle releases affordable housing ‘grand bargain’ between developers, advocates
Includes linkage fee to further goal of constructing 6,000 new affordable units.