Newsroom

How the Big Game is bringing economic opportunity to Los Angeles

By ·
· , ,

Key Takeaways

  • Searches for stays in Los Angeles during the Big Game increased by 50 percent from October to November alone.
  • The Big Game brings bigger economic potential: when Atlanta was home to the event in February 2019, local Hosts earned nearly $3.5 million.
  • Airbnb is launching the Airbnb Entrepreneurship Academy in Los Angeles, working with organizations like Brotherhood Crusade to empower local residents who are interested in reaping the financial benefits of hosting ahead of the Big Game.

Key Takeaways

  • Searches for stays in Los Angeles during the Big Game increased by 50 percent from October to November alone.
  • The Big Game brings bigger economic potential: when Atlanta was home to the event in February 2019, local Hosts earned nearly $3.5 million.
  • Airbnb is launching the Airbnb Entrepreneurship Academy in Los Angeles, working with organizations like Brotherhood Crusade to empower local residents who are interested in reaping the financial benefits of hosting ahead of the Big Game.

With Los Angeles readying for the Big Game in less than one month, local Hosts are preparing to open their doors to help welcome fans to their community. From October to November 2021, searches for accommodations on Airbnb in the City of Angels during the February game weekend increased by approximately 50 percent, indicating that the event will likely be a boon both for those with space to share as well as small businesses who will benefit from local spending by incoming guests.

Since our founding, the Airbnb platform has helped cities use existing space to scale accommodations and absorb influxes of visitors, all while creating important economic opportunities for Hosts and local small businesses. This includes extending those opportunities to neighborhoods that are outside of traditional city centers and have not traditionally benefited from the tourism economy, such as the South LA community where SoFi Stadium is located. When Atlanta was home to the Big Game in February 2019, local Hosts earned nearly $3.5 million from welcoming more than 11,000 guest arrivals – and there was $180 million in economic activity generated citywide.

To support local residents in embracing the economic opportunities created by the Big Game and beyond, Airbnb is announcing this week the launch of our Airbnb Entrepreneurship Academy – a flexible and interactive education program focused on introducing communities to hosting – in Los Angeles. Working with community-based organizations like Brotherhood Crusade, this Academy will include online workshops with top tips on hosting a space through Airbnb to earn extra income, with the option to connect with an experienced Superhost. Last year, the Airbnb Entrepreneurship Academy expanded to the United States, working with the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians to design and run an Academy for EBCI community members in rural North Carolina.

Brotherhood Crusade is extremely excited to partner with Airbnb on the Entrepreneurship Academy. Providing opportunities in South LA to assist and educate our community in equitable ways, which can improve their finances is a win for everyone.

Charisse Bremond Weaver, President and CEO of Brotherhood Crusade

In addition to this first-time LA expansion of the Airbnb Entrepreneurship Academy, to supplement the economic impact hosting has in the area, Airbnb has also committed to supporting equitable health services, youth development and job creation in South LA by way of: 

  • A $500,000 donation together with Nasdaq to help local organizations with visions in line with Nasdaq’s ambitions to advance inclusive growth and prosperity and to empower under-represented communities in their efforts to generate wealth. The local organizations include LeadersUp, which aims to close the racial wealth gap by connecting young adults of color seeking quality employment to employers seeking competitive talent; Central Neighborhood Health Foundation, which seeks to minimize disparities in healthcare access; and Brotherhood Crusade, a grass-roots organization working towards improving quality of life for under-represented communities. 
  • A collaboration with the non-profit Nasdaq Entrepreneurial Center to offer an educational module focused on entrepreneurship and “solopreneurship” to Airbnb Entrepreneurship Academy participants, starting this spring.

As big events continue to come back in 2022, the opportunity of hosting will remain significant, beyond the Big Game. Half of new listings that were both activated and booked through Q3 2021 got a reservation request within three days, and the average annual earnings per Host who had welcomed at least one guest was $9,600. US Hosts earned $12.5 billion in the first three quarters of 2021 alone.

And for anyone interested in earning extra income by hosting in 2022, Airbnb has made it easier than ever to get started. Last 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.
Read more about: Airbnb Entrepreneurship Academy, Economic Empowerment, Hosting

About Brotherhood Crusade

Celebrating 53 years of service to the Los Angeles community, Brotherhood Crusade was founded in 1968. The organization’s principal mission is to champion equality and equity by removing and/or helping individuals overcome the barriers that deter their pursuit of success in life and facilitate opportunities for a better quality of life by effectuating improved health and wellness, facilitating academic success, promoting personal, social and economic growth, providing access to artistic excellence and cultural awareness, increasing financial literacy and building community agencies and institutions. Brotherhood Crusade provides direct services to more than 3,000 youth and young adults and an additional 25,000 residents through its special projects.

Brotherhood Crusade has a history of building alliances with other organizations, corporations and foundations of goodwill that are committed to and understand the tremendous need for helping our community and people grow and prosper.

About Airbnb

Airbnb was born in 2007 when two Hosts welcomed three guests to their San Francisco home, and has since grown to over 4 million Hosts who have welcomed more than 1 billion guest arrivals across over 220 countries and regions. Travel on Airbnb keeps more of the financial benefits of tourism with the people and places that make it happen. Airbnb has generated billions of dollars in earnings for Hosts, most of whom are individuals listing the homes in which they live. Among Hosts who report their gender, more than half are women, and one in five employed Hosts are either teachers or healthcare workers. Travel on Airbnb also has generated more than $4 billion in tax revenue around the world. Airbnb has helped advance more than 1,000 regulatory frameworks for short-term rentals, including in 80% of our top 200 geographies. In late 2020, to support our continued expansion and diversification, we launched the City Portal to provide governments with a one-stop shop that supports data sharing and compliance with local registration rules. We continue to invest in innovations and tools to support our ongoing work with governments around the world to advance travel that best serves communities.

Download logo assets