Airbnb-friendly apartments in Denver unlock extra cash for tenants
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
It turns out you can make a pretty penny on your Airbnb in Denver — so long as it's in the right place.
By the numbers: Median annual earnings for apartment hosts in metro Denver hit $7,900, per Airbnb figures shared with Axios.
Why it matters: A growing number of apartment buildings nationwide are allowing residents to bank extra cash by renting out their units for short stays.
Zoom in: Uptown Square Apartments and Solera are among the Denver buildings where renters can host part-time and make the highest average weekly earnings, according to Airbnb's website.
The big picture: Apartment affordability has plunged in recent years, and tenants are feeling especially poor about their finances, according to the Axios Vibes survey by The Harris Poll.
Zoom out: Many landlords don't permit short-term rentals, but some companies with big portfolios such as Greystar have joined Airbnb's apartment platform.
- Apartments accounted for about 16% of U.S. Airbnb listings in April 2024, per AirDNA, a short-term rental analytics firm.
How it works: In 2022, Airbnb launched Airbnb-friendly apartments (AFA), a marketplace to help renters find apartment buildings where they can use their primary residences for part-time hosting.
- The platform grew last year to include more than 400 apartment buildings across 43 markets nationwide.
- Buildings that partner with Airbnb receive a share of the total booking revenue, typically between 5% and 25%.
- Roughly 1,000 U.S. renters are currently hosting through the program, a number Airbnb hopes to boost.
What they're saying: "Everybody should have the ability to host, or share their home part-time, to make some extra income," Jesse Stein, Airbnb's global head of real estate, tells Axios.
- "We don't feel like homeownership should be a barrier."
What's next: The company says it will advocate for short-term rental rules that allow renters in more cities to share their space.
Go deeper: Homeowners are getting rich. Renters? Not so much