Airbnb launches new housing accelerator

Airbnb was born when two hosts inflated three airbeds and launched a website to help pay their rent. Nearly 20 years later, millions of hosts rely on Airbnb income to stay in their homes—but because not enough housing has been built in recent decades, many still struggle to find a home they can afford. 

Today, Airbnb is taking its most significant step yet to be part of the solution: the launch of the Airbnb Housing Accelerator, a multi-pillar commitment to help build more housing across the country and around the world. 

The Housing Accelerator combines capital deployment, policy advocacy, and innovation into a coordinated system designed to help remove the barriers that prevent homes from being built and unlock housing supply, and inspire the next generation of breakthroughs in construction technology.

Unlocking $5B to build more housing

Airbnb will make an initial investment of $250 million in rental housing developments that are ready to build but stuck on the one-yard line, thereby unlocking $5 billion in capital investments over the next ten years. Research commissioned by Airbnb estimates that 750,000 housing units across the country have cleared most regulatory hurdles but lack the final financing commitment needed to break ground. Airbnb’s investment will focus on “last-dollar” financing—the modest, incremental capital that makes the difference between a project moving forward or sitting idle.

Airbnb will invest at returns significantly below standard market rates, prioritizing affordable and mixed-income housing projects that are stalled. 

Airbnb’s inaugural $6.4 million investment will support the development of 201 affordable housing units in Austin, Texas. These units are part of the larger St. John redevelopment project, a public-private partnership that will include more than 500 units of housing, retail, a park, and public art showcasing work by local artists in an historically underserved community.

Developers, nonprofits, and community organizations are encouraged to suggest additional projects for investment at airbnb.com/housingaccelerator.

Supporting smart reforms in communities where 100M Americans live

Investment alone cannot solve the housing crisis. Durable change requires modernizing the rules that make it too expensive, too slow, and too difficult to build. Airbnb will support community leaders fighting to enact pro-housing reforms — zoning, permitting, and building code changes. Community leaders Airbnb is proud to support include:

• Citizens Housing and Planning Association
• Florida Housing Coalition
• AURA
• Housing Action Coalition

Every community is different and Airbnb will support the local leaders on the ground who are advocating for the housing solutions that work for their city including reduced permitting timelines, increased density allowances, and limits on upfront impact fees. We will also support foundational research with the Chicago Urban League that will help identify why existing housing programs may not be working and provide actionable policy recommendations that expand the amount of available housing. More information on these and other policy solutions is available in The Airbnb Housing Accelerator: Tackling the Housing Crisis, a new report issued today highlighting reforms that make housing more available and affordable.

Airbnb City Index

Later this year, we will release the Airbnb City Index, a first-of-its-kind dataset designed to give journalists, researchers, advocates, and policymakers a window into the state of housing policies and outcomes in different cities. 

Airbnb will leverage its global footprint and policy expertise to publish this annual ranking of cities worldwide on their housing policies. The Index will cover outcomes like housing additions per capita and affordability measures, in addition to the rules that enable or hinder housing production.

$5M Housing Innovation Prize

In addition to investing capital and advocating for reforms, we need new innovations and technologies to solve the housing crisis. To accelerate innovation in homebuilding and development, Airbnb intends to provide¹ five awards of $1 million each for innovators and entrepreneurs developing technologies and designs that make it easier, faster, and cheaper to build a home.  The funding will support innovative housing ventures that have demonstrated their potential but need additional capital to deliver more affordably-priced housing at scale. We will consider breakthrough technologies related to scaling offsite construction of single family and multifamily homes, enhancing productivity on construction sites, speeding permitting and design processes, among other areas.

“The ability to afford housing is part of the foundation of Airbnb. The company was launched because we couldn’t afford our rent—and today, that reality exists for millions of Americans. The housing crisis wasn’t created overnight, and it won’t be solved overnight. But we can start moving in the right direction, and that is exactly what the Airbnb Housing Accelerator is designed to do.”

— Brian Chesky, CEO and Co-Founder, Airbnb

"Austin leads the national conversation and the actual outcomes on housing because we're doing what it takes to build. I'm glad to see Airbnb investing in housing projects like St. John's. Expanding housing takes all of us. When a company like Airbnb steps up and works alongside local organizations, community leaders, and the city, you get real outcomes."

— Kirk Watson, Mayor, City of Austin

"Communities across Massachusetts are working to build support for more housing, but residents and local leaders need the right tools to turn that support into results. Through programs like the Municipal Engagement Initiative and Massachusetts Housing Leadership Academy, CHAPA helps communities build local coalitions, develop housing leaders, and advance practical solutions. Airbnb's support will help us bring this hands-on assistance and peer learning to more cities and towns working to create homes people can afford."

—  Eric Shupin, Chief Executive Officer, Citizens' Housing and Planning Association (CHAPA) 

“At the Florida Housing Coalition, we have always believed that partnerships are what unlock many resources for Florida's housing needs, and that affordable housing is the foundation of stronger communities and a stronger economy. This support helps us reach more communities and help more of them say yes to housing, and we’re looking forward to what this partnership will make possible.”

— Ashon Nesbitt, Chief Executive Officer, Florida Housing Coalition

“AURA is grateful to Airbnb for their partnership and commitment to strengthening communities here in Austin. For more than a decade, we have advanced reforms to  address  the root cause of Austin’s housing crisis: the simple fact that we have made it too difficult to build  enough homes for everyone. Airbnb has been a real partner in working with communities to address that issue head on, and we welcome their generous support for the work we do to advance pro-housing policies.”

— Zach Faddis, President, AURA

For more information on the Airbnb Housing Accelerator, including how to submit a housing investment opportunity, visit airbnb.com/housingaccelerator.