In 2016, Airbnb launched the Airbnb Resident Hosting Program. Under the program, landlords allow residents in their buildings and communities to responsibly host on Airbnb. The program also allows for property owners to receive a share of hosting revenue, set up rules for hosting, and includes $1 million of primary property and $1 million in liability insurance for the building owner.
From the beginning, it’s been a win-win-win proposition: residents can share their space, travelers get access to unique places to stay, and property owners get new revenue and information about hosting in their buildings. Cities and small businesses benefit too from an influx of spending in neighborhoods that travelers might have missed in the past.
For two years, we’ve been working with major REITs and private ownership groups, and as of July 30, buildings with tens of thousands of units are enrolled in the Resident Hosting Program. The program is growing because more and more property owners have seen how home sharing is one of the fastest growing trends in residential housing and a sought after amenity for prospective residents. According to a 2017 National Multifamily Housing Council (NMHC) study, over half of those age 25-34 and over 60 percent of those under age 25 are interested or very interested in the ability to share their units.
Today, we are announcing some steps we are taking to build on this progress and make the Airbnb Resident Hosting Program even stronger. In the coming weeks and months, we will be rolling out a series of changes that will give hosts and property owners more services and support to make hosting even easier. Here’s some — but not all — of what we have planned:
- Our product teams are developing new tools that will allow property managers to have more control over home sharing in their buildings, such as setting reasonable limits on how often spaces in their buildings can be shared.
- Many property managers and apartment owners use systems like Yardi, RealPage, Appfolio, and Entrata to manage their apartment portfolios. We are building a new set of API’s so property managers can manage Airbnb listings in their building from within these systems.
- The product will include new tools that will make it easier for hosts to include building rules drafted by building managers as a part of their residents’ Airbnb listings.
- We will create new online and offline resident education materials, so residents can learn more about home sharing.
We are thrilled to work with our community of building owners in the Resident Hosting Program and support their residents who enjoy home sharing. Our team is excited to develop these new product features, and we will provide a series of updates as we move forward. In the meantime, if you want to learn more about the Airbnb Resident Hosting Program, click here to reach us.