The Women Powering Our Community

Since 2008, Airbnb’s community of women has been creating meaningful connections and fostering transformative experiences through travel. Around the world, more than 54 million women have traveled on Airbnb¹, and our women hosts have earned nearly $15 billion in the last year alone²  by opening their homes and sharing their passions — and this is only the beginning. In the last 12 years, women’s percentage of five-star reviews has grown to 83 percent³, with average review ratings at 4.77 stars.⁴ 

Women also make up more than half of Airbnb’s community globally.⁵ An island in the English Channel, Jersey, has the highest percentage of women Home hosts at 68 percent, and in New Zealand, women make up 64 percent of the Airbnb Stay host community.⁶ Our women hosts are also pioneers in turning their passions into magical Experiences for guests, with women making up 61 percent of Experience hosts in Ukraine, 57 percent in the UK, and 56 percent each in China, Finland, and Thailand.⁷ 

Airbnb’s women hosts are blazing trails in hospitality, especially in host cities for the upcoming Olympic Games⁸:

A sizable number of our 2019 global community of women hosts (21%) said they consider hosting their primary occupation, with 54 percent of that group reporting their earnings have helped them grow their business, and more than half of them said they see it as a lifeline for their own welfare: 51 percent said the money from hosting has allowed them to stay in their homes.⁹

Here are a few of their stories:

Soraya, Host (Mumbai, India)

Hosting, you could say, is in Soraya’s blood. A child of parents from different parts of the world, India and the UK, Soraya says she inherited the best of both cultures when it comes to hospitality and has bestowed this passion for hosting and humanity onto the next generation with her daughter, Fabia. The two of them are now Superhosts on Airbnb, and have opened their doors to guests for the past seven years at their home in Mumbai. 

“We now belong to a world where everyone can feel like family…With the money earned we can now travel to newer destinations, meet and make friends in places that we never dreamt we’d ever visit.  All these experiences have left us with richer thoughts and lasting friendships with people who were once strangers to us. Every day is different. Each one special in its own way.”

Priscillia, Experience Host (London, UK)

Once a certified microbiologist, Priscillia decided to leave her scientific day job to pursue her passion for women’s wear and get a degree in fashion design. Now, she shares her affinity for garment creation with guests on her Sew a Dress in a Day Experience, where they arrive to learn about sewing patterns and leave with a dress of their own, but not before a personal photoshoot in their new threads. 

“I enjoy the process of creating garments, it’s exciting, therapeutic and empowering. Sharing this passion with others has come to be my new favorite thing. It’s almost magical to be able to make a beautiful garment from flat fabrics.”

Jini, Host (Seoul, South Korea)

An ardent traveler at heart, Superhost Jini started hosting guests in her home after having a baby at age 40 as a way to stay connected to the world and introduce her daughter to people from different cultures and backgrounds. She often likes to share tea with her guests and hear their stories. Once she hosted a young Malaysian couple, a Japanese family and three Chinese families at her listing all at the same time, and despite the language barriers, they wound up spending the Korean Chuseok holiday cooking together and departed feeling like family.

“When I was young, I wanted to travel around the world. At that time, it seemed important how many countries I went to, but now that I am 47 years old, it is important to know who has stayed at my house. In the future, my daughter will not be prejudiced against the races of the world – we are proud that our daughter learns that everyone is a friend.”

Ellen, Experience Host (New Haven, Vermont)

As a certified Equine Assisted Life Coach and Life Energy Healer, Ellen has turned her passion into a profession through her creation of her Kindred Horse Life Coaching business. Guests on her Healing Nature of Horses Experience witness first hand how these beautiful animals can bestow many life lessons upon us.

“I absolutely love facilitating and supporting this transformative, life enhancing experience between the horse and human. The horse’s language is clear, tender and powerful. They inspire us, comfort and support us. They model healthy boundaries, a truthful, honest heart and an empowered life which we greatly benefit from.”

Abril, Host (Mexico City, Mexico)

Hosting is something Abril might have stumbled upon by happy circumstance, but it’s evolved into a business. After moving into a new apartment with her partner and co-host, Rodrigo, she purchased another apartment at a fraction of the price and decided to host the space on Airbnb for additional income. Seven years later, she and Rodrigo now run a small boutique business hosting on Airbnb with 17 listings throughout Mexico City, including this vibrant Condesa apartment. Abril says hosting has helped her discover a new way of living by being able to share her love for her city with people around the world.

“Our company employs seven people full time and has an office, warehouse and maintenance shop. This new business has been a success from the start and has allowed us to have many moments of satisfaction as a couple. By sharing a life together in which we build our house with the business we have, and spend time together while enjoying growing our business — [it all] brings us back to what we love.”

Our women guests are also continuing to make lasting travel memories and seek new experiences on Airbnb in a variety of countries and regions, with the Cook Islands (60%), Taiwan (57%), New Zealand (55%) and Greenland (54%) having some of the highest percentages of women travelers.¹⁰ In 2019, we saw our women guests adventuring solo, staying domestic and exploring with their fellow women travelers.

And they are setting their sights on some less discovered destinations with access to the great outdoors, coastal beach towns and historical sites – below are some of the top trending destinations with women travelers:

¹Based on Airbnb internal data measuring the number of guests who have self-identified as female, all time, as of February 2020.

²Based on Airbnb internal data measuring host earnings in 2019 for hosts who have self-identified as female.

³Based on Airbnb internal data measuring share of five-star reviews by gender in 2019, comparing self-identified female percentages (83%) to self-reported male percentages (80%).

⁴Based on Airbnb internal data measuring average review ratings by gender in 2019, comparing self-identified female average ratings (4.77) to self-reported male average ratings (4.73).

⁵Based on Airbnb internal data as of February 10, 2020.

⁶Based on Airbnb internal data measuring percentage of self-identified female Homes hosts by country, as of Feb 10, 2020 (filtered by at least 100 women hosts).

⁷Based on Airbnb internal data measuring percentage of self-identified female Experiences hosts by country, as of Feb 10, 2020 (filtered by at least 100 women hosts).

⁸Based on Airbnb internal data measuring percentage percentage of self-identified female Stays hosts, percentage of self-identified female Experiences hosts, average review ratings of self-identified female Stays hosts, host earnings in 2019 for self-identified female hosts and share of superhosts by self-identified female hosts by Olympic host city (Tokyo, Beijing, Paris, Milan, Los Angeles).

⁹Based on more than 68,000 responses to a voluntary survey sent to a representative sample of Airbnb host and guest accounts around the world who identify as women. No payment or other incentive was provided in exchange for completing the survey.

¹⁰Based on Airbnb internal data measuring percentage of self-identified female guests by country, all time (filtered by at least 100 women guests).

¹¹Based on Airbnb internal data of 2020 trips based on group size types and destinations of self-identified female guests, comparing 2019 to 2018. 

¹²Based on Airbnb internal data of trips made by self-identified female guests classified as business travel.

¹³Based on Airbnb internal data measuring mentions of specific keywords (momcations, girls trip, bachelorette, mom getaways, etc.) in reviews in 2019.

¹⁴Based on Airbnb internal data measuring trending destinations based on year-over-year growth of searches made by self-identified female guests, comparing 2019 to 2018 (filtered by minimum 1000 searches in 2018).

¹⁵Based on Airbnb internal data measuring trending destinations based on wish list inclusion of listings based on location, created by self-identified female guests, comparing 2019 to 2018 (filtered by minimum of 1000 inclusions in 2018).