Supporting local solutions to help drive housing affordability in the US

Airbnb was founded during the global financial crisis of 2008 to help families afford their homes and make ends meet. Today, approximately 40 percent of Hosts say hosting provides an economic lifeline and helps them stay in their homes¹. Increasingly, though, homeownership feels out of reach for many Americans due to elevated housing costs and a shortage of new housing construction. 

In an effort to spur more housing in communities across the US, Airbnb announced a $200,000 contribution to Up for Growth and YIMBY Action, which will support their grassroots housing reform efforts, including: 

• Helping Up for Growth build, educate, and activate diverse coalitions in support of smart, pro-housing policies.
• Allowing YIMBY Action to hire a grassroots organizer to help build support for legislative supply reforms in key states, including Colorado, Hawaii, Michigan, Illinois, Florida, Virginia, and Texas.

Both organizations are members of Airbnb’s Housing Council and are nationally recognized for their efforts to get more housing built in communities across the country. 

“Many housing experts agree the only way out of our current housing crisis is to build the millions of additional housing units needed to backfill years of pent-up demand. Up for Growth and YIMBY Action are working in communities across the country to make it easier to get homes built.”

Jay Carney, Global Head of Policy and Communications at Airbnb.

“By supporting our coalition efforts in the areas of greatest housing need across the country, Airbnb will help drive progress for those currently being left behind by the dual challenges of availability and affordability.”

Mike Kingsella, CEO at Up for Growth. 

“This is an exciting time for the nationwide effort to spur new home building, and Airbnb’s support will help us build coalitions on the ground to drive local legislative change. Airbnb understands we have to work together to overturn decades of misguided policies that have created a housing shortage and driven Americans into crisis.”

Laura Foote, Executive Director at YIMBY Action

By contributing $100,000 to each of these organizations, Airbnb is supporting their work in communities across the US facing severe housing shortages. Our contributions will help accelerate local housing policy efforts and build diverse coalitions to advocate for a path forward to building more homes. 

$100 million investment to support housing and homeownership in the US

These new partnerships complement a broader company-wide effort to help more people access the dream of homeownership. As a part of these efforts, Airbnb has invested $100 million to support affordable housing in low-to-moderate income communities across the US through our Community Impact Investment program.  

Created in 2019 with an initial $25 million investment in projects that support affordable homeownership, small businesses and the construction and preservation of affordable rental housing in the San Francisco Bay Area and Los Angeles County, the Community Impact Investment program has expanded with an additional $75 million toward other affordable homeownership programs and to support loans and mortgages for low-to-moderate income families in New York City, Chicago, Richmond, Austin, Nashville and Atlanta.

Over the last few years, we have made significant investments in other initiatives aimed at making hosting on Airbnb—which Hosts use as a stepping stone towards wealth creation and home ownership—more accessible to more people, including:

• Airbnb-Friendly Apartments: With the cost of living continuing to rise, the Airbnb-Friendly Apartment marketplace offers renters—who are more likely to be housing cost-burdened—a way to earn extra income to offset their living expenses through their traditionally rented home. Since the program launched, renter interest in Airbnb-Friendly Apartments has spiked. We’ve received over 3,000 requests across 850 US cities to be notified about when an Airbnb-Friendly Apartment building is available. 

• Airbnb Rooms: Through our May 2023 Summer Release, we introduced Airbnb Rooms—an all-new take on the original Airbnb—which represents renewed investment and focus in everyday Hosts who share space in their own home, creating opportunities for more people to earn vital extra income amid lingering economic uncertainty.

We look forward to continuing this important work together with our Housing Council, as well as housing advocates and policymakers across the country.