How much Portland renters can make listing on Airbnb
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Several Portland-area apartment buildings are allowing tenants to bank extra cash by listing and renting out their units for short stays through Airbnb.
Why it matters: Rental affordability has plunged in recent years, and those who rent are feeling especially bad about their finances, according to an Axios Vibes survey by The Harris Poll.
State of play: Tenants in the Portland area who host on Airbnb typically earn about $3,700 a year, per 2023 figures shared with Axios.
- Indigo, Sawbuck and Enso — all on the west side — are among the four Portland-area apartment buildings that allow renters to host part-time, according to Airbnb's website as of June.
- The sole east-side apartment building, Heatherbrae, is in Milwaukie's Southgate neighborhood.
Between the lines: While many landlords don't permit short-term rentals, 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 5-25%.
- About 1,000 U.S. renters currently host 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," Stein says.