Redefining hosting for the holidays

Key Takeaways

• This year's holiday travel is expected to outpace even 2019 demand, with trends like cross-border travel and living on Airbnb continuing throughout the season.
• Ahead of the busy holiday season, there is a big opportunity for those with travel plans to earn some extra cash while they’re away, by hosting.

For many, this holiday season will provide the first opportunity to connect with extended family and friends in quite some time. The pent-up desire to reconnect with our loved ones – and to travel in general – is fueling the resurgence of the holiday travel season. For Thanksgiving this week, we’ve seen demand outpace that of 2019 levels: As of the end of September, we had over 40 percent more nights booked for Thanksgiving week in the US than at the same time in 2019¹.

In line with how travel is changing writ large, holiday travel will also look different this year, as the trend of living on Airbnb bleeds into the festive season. Nights booked for long-term stays during the holidays are up nearly 20 percent globally and nearly 70 percent in the US, compared to the same time in 2019². And we’re likely to see this trend extend past New Year’s into 2022, as long-term stays are our fastest-growing trip length and family trips are our fastest growing trip type based on bookings for 2022 as of September 30, 2021³.

For the millions of travelers who will be hitting the road and taking to the skies beginning this coming weekend, there is a big opportunity to earn some extra cash while they’re away – redefining how to host for the holidays. Since the pandemic began, new Hosts on Airbnb have made more than $6 billion on Airbnb, and in Q3 all Hosts earned a record $12.8 billion in income from Airbnb – up 27 percent from Q3 2019.

In fact, some have already taken advantage of this opportunity, as more than 1,100 new Hosts in the US expect to welcome their first Airbnb guests this Thanksgiving.

To illustrate the potential earnings for those considering hosting, we’ve identified some of the top cities for expected Host income over Thanksgiving weekend, including a number of destinations where locals can meet the demand for family travel:

• Kissimmee, FL
• San Diego, CA
• Sevierville, TN
• Los Angeles, CA
• New York City, NY
• Austin, TX

For those interested in becoming an Airbnb Host, we’ve made it easier than ever. Earlier this year, we rolled out a new onboarding process that is just 10 steps. We also recently expanded our popular Ask a Superhost Tool, which matches anyone interested in hosting with one of our most experienced Hosts for one-on-one advice. The tool has been expanded to over 30 languages in 196 countries, and prospective Hosts can now be paired with Superhosts based on their location, language and listing. In addition, we have introduced AirCover, which provides top-to-bottom protection for free to every Airbnb Host with $1 million in damage protection and $1 million in liability coverage, along with income loss protection, pet damage protection, deep cleaning protection, and more.

Those interested in hosting can visit: Airbnb.com/Host.

^1. Based on data from Q3 2021, compared to Q3 2019
^2. Based on data from Q3 2021, compared to Q3 2019
^3. Based on data from Q3 2021, compared to Q3 2019

About Airbnb

Airbnb was born in 2007 when two Hosts welcomed three guests to their San Francisco home, and has since grown to over 5 million Hosts who have welcomed over 1.5 billion guest arrivals in almost every country across the globe. Every day, Hosts offer unique stays and experiences that make it possible for guests to connect with communities in a more authentic way.

About Airbnb.org

Airbnb.org is a nonprofit organization dedicated to facilitating temporary stays for people in times of crisis around the world. Airbnb.org operates independently and leverages Airbnb, Inc.'s technology, services, and other resources at no charge to carry out Airbnb.org's charitable purpose. The inspiration for Airbnb.org began in 2012 with a single host named Shell who opened up her home to people impacted by Hurricane Sandy. This sparked a movement and marked the beginning of a program that allows Hosts on Airbnb to provide stays for people in times of need. Since then, the program has evolved to focus on emergency response and to help provide stays to evacuees, relief workers, refugees, asylum seekers, and frontline workers fighting the spread of COVID-19. Since then, Hosts have offered to open up their homes and helped provide accommodations to 100,000 people in times of need. Airbnb.org is a separate and independent entity from Airbnb, Inc. Airbnb, Inc. does not charge service fees for Airbnb.org supported stays on its platform.

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