APAC Seniors Embracing Airbnb, Top List of World’s Most Active Guests

For years, seniors (hosts and guests aged 60 and older) have been a growing and integral part of the Airbnb community. The senior host cohort on Airbnb is growing fast, earning important extra income, and continuing to be the most popular host/guest age group. In addition to hosting, seniors are a burgeoning portion of Airbnb’s guest community, using the power of the platform to go beyond traditional tourist districts and experience local, authentic neighbourhoods.

APAC’s Active Senior Guests and Trending Destinations

Globally, senior guests are now the fastest-growing of any age group on Airbnb, with the number of seniors who have booked on the platform growing 66% in the past year. Across APAC, the number of seniors who have booked on Airbnb grew more than 64% in the past year.

In fact, New Zealand seniors are the world’s most active on Airbnb, topping the the list of countries with the highest proportion of senior guests on Airbnb. Countries with the highest proportion of over 60s travelling on Airbnb*:

  1. New Zealand
  2. Australia
  3. Denmark
  4. US
  5. Canada
  6. Iceland
  7. Netherlands
  8. Israel
  9. UK
  10. South Africa

*Minimum 1000 guests

And it seems that in APAC, the top getaway destinations for senior travellers are Australia, New Zealand and Japan. Some other trending destinations in APAC include**:

  1. Canterbury, New Zealand – 167%
  2. Tasmania, Australia – 142%
  3. Davao, The Philippines – 140%
  4. Fujian, China – 122%
  5. Sichuan, China – 121%

**Defined as the cities with greatest YoY increase in # of bookings by senior guests for 2018 travel compared to 2017

APAC’s Hospitable Senior Hosts, The Most Loved

Globally, senior hosts are the fastest-growing age group of hosts on Airbnb, and there are now over 400,000 senior hosts on Airbnb worldwide. In 2017, seniors hosts around the world earned over $2 billion (USD), hosted over 13.5 million guest arrivals at their listings, and welcomed travellers from over 150 countries.

“I’ve been hosting on Airbnb for about a year and just love it. It’s easy to do and I really enjoy meeting people, young and old, from all around the world and from all walks of life. Hosting on Airbnb keeps me ‘on the ball’ and makes my ‘retirement’ fun!”

Delwyn, Airbnb Host, Auckland

In APAC, there are more than 9,500 senior hosts on Airbnb, a year on year increase of more than 29%, earning more than $208 million in the past year. In 2017, APAC senior hosts welcomed over 1.7 million guest arrivals at their listings and ranked among the most loved hosts in the world with more than 85% of reviews for senior hosts receiving five stars.

“Airbnb is proud to be a platform that provides authentic, sustainable and diverse opportunities for travelers from all walks of life. We are especially pleased to see dynamic travel trends for both senior hosts and guests in APAC, and look forward to continuing to embrace this vibrant and much-loved community.”

Siew Kum Hong, Airbnb Regional Director, APAC

Seniors are also at the forefront of a growing trend in Airbnb bookings: multi-generational family travel, where the booking guest is a senior travelling with children or an infant. In contrast to other accommodation options, Airbnb homes often provide amenities that make them ideal for family getaways: expansive kitchens, shared dining spaces, and individual bedrooms and bathrooms. This is an accelerating trend on Airbnb: multigenerational family travel bookings have grown 72% in the past year. In 2018, slightly less than half of these multi-generational bookings have been by first-time bookers new to the Airbnb community.

The Airbnb Press Room is aimed at journalists. All Homes and Experiences referenced on the Airbnb Press Room are intended purely to inspire and illustrate. Airbnb does not recommend or endorse specific Home listings or any other Homes or Experiences on the Airbnb platform.