Helping hosts to share their homes responsibly in Iceland

From today, Airbnb will add a new field for hosts in Iceland to easily display their registration number on their listing page and will work closely with the authorities to promote the online registration process for home shares in Iceland, making it easier for hosts to comply with local rules. This is one of the results of an ongoing dialogue between the City of Reykjavik and Airbnb. The productive discussions will continue as both parties seek to promote responsible home sharing in Reykjavik and work on their common goal of making Reykjavik a better place to live and visit.

This follows new rules which were introduced in Iceland last year, allowing regular Icelanders to share their homes. According to the rules:

  • Hosts can share up to two homes up to 90 days per year combined and up to a total gross rental income of max. 2 million ISK
  • Hosts are spared from burdensome procedures and only need to register via an online process and display their registration number*

Dagur B. Eggertsson, Mayor of Reykjavik, said:

“The City of Reykjavik has been in discussions with Airbnb for the past year or so regarding various aspects of the home sharing market where we as a city have been experiencing rapid growth in tourism. We want to emphasize that everything should be visible and transparent when it comes to home sharing and the District Commissioner has been successfully enforcing the national legislation on home sharing. The introduction of this new registration field is one phase of the discussions which we are realizing today but an important one.”

Iceland remains a very popular holiday hotspots for guests around the world. Last year, over 770,000 guests on Airbnb headed to the island to see some of the world’s most beautiful landscapes and experience its local culture, history and natural surroundings. New data released today by Airbnb shows that last year:

  • The Airbnb community boosted the local economy by 41.7 billion ISK from host earnings and guest spending
  • The typical Airbnb host in Iceland shares their space for just over 60 nights a year and hosts have been living in their hometown 30 years on average
  • Over 5,000 hosts across the length and breadth of Iceland were opening their homes to guests wanting to experience the country like a local

Pieter Guldemond, Public Policy Manager at Airbnb, said:

“Iceland has long supported home sharing as a welcome addition to the accommodation offer, and we’re pleased to be supporting them by making it even easier for hosts to share their homes responsibly. By working together, we can help more local families to follow the rules, generate new revenue streams that make our communities stronger and help expand Iceland’s tourism offering.”

Read the City of Reykjavik’s press release (Icelandic) 

Hosts who share their homes more frequently will need to register as a business