Welcoming nearly 4.5 million guests for New Year’s Eve

In the early days of Airbnb, many people were unconvinced that sharing homes with strangers would work, but 14 years and more than 1 billion guest arrivals later, our community has created a truly global network built on connection. This year, nearly 4.5 million guests hailing from more than 220 countries and 50,000 cities and towns stayed in Airbnbs over the holiday weekend, making New Year’s Eve our biggest night since the start of the pandemic. Guests celebrated the new year by forging connections across the globe, with more than 90 percent of guests staying somewhere other than the typical 10 most popular travel destinations on Airbnb, and staying in more than 53,000 distinct destinations overall. 

As travel returns, we are continuing to put public health first while encouraging safe and responsible travel. Health authorities, including the Centers for Disease Control, have recognized that some short-term rentals may offer a safer travel experience relative to hotels, without the risk of common spaces like lobbies or dining halls.

To that end, Airbnb implemented new products over New Year’s Eve to crack down on unauthorized or disruptive parties, helping to protect our Hosts and minimizing neighborhood disruption. The anchor of this plan was a ban on one-night New Year’s Eve bookings in entire home listings for guests without a history of positive reviews, building on our global party ban.

As the world continues to undergo a revolution in how we live and work, technologies like Zoom are making it possible to work from home, and this newfound flexibility is leading to travelers being untethered and booking longer trips.

Guests also traveled farther from home for the holiday. Over 40 percent of New Year’s Eve nights booked were more than 1,000 miles away from guests’ origins. And compared to New Year’s Eve travel in 2019, along with big cities known for festive celebrations, more remote locations renowned for their snowy slopes or sandy beaches also made our top trending list by searches for the weekend:

• Praia Grande, Brazil
• Subang Jaya, Malaysia 
• Piedmont, Italy 
• Gerardmer, France 
• Santarem, Portugal
• Valais, Switzerland
• Busan, Korea
• Poconos, United States
• Mons, Belgium
• Lima, Peru

Many Airbnb guests sought new ways in which to ring in the new year after spending last year isolated from loved ones. Even with travel restrictions in place, a variety of regions experienced spikes in travelers from specific destinations as the world kicked off 2022, compared to 2019. Here are the top trending origins of travelers, and the places where they celebrated the new year:

• 210% growth in Turkish travelers to the US
• 200% growth in Brazil travelers to Russia
• 190% growth in German travelers to Portugal
• 190% growth in Canadian travelers to Peru
• 180% growth in Spanish travelers to Lithuania
• 145% growth in Polish travelers to Spain
• 140% growth in Costa Rican travelers to the UK
• 135% growth in Colombian travelers to Chile
• 130% growth in French travelers to Ireland
• 120% growth in Portuguese travelers to Denmark

Unique stays were another means in which guests sought to celebrate in a new way: 

• Almost 50,000+ guests stayed on farms 
• 30,000+ guests stayed in tiny houses
• 3,500 guests stayed in castles
• 3,500 guests stayed in treehouses
• 2,500+ guests stayed in yurts
• 850+ guests stayed on islands 
• 550+ guests stayed in caves
• 280+ guests stayed in windmills 
• 170 guests stayed in lighthouses 
• 130 guests stayed in igloos

As a new year begins, guests can explore more getaways — from a retreat in the treetops or relaxation under dark skies — at airbnb.com.