Airbnb-friendly apartments open up short-term rental market
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Illustration: Annelise Capossela/Axios
A growing number of apartment buildings nationwide, including about two dozen around San Diego, are allowing tenants to rent out their units part time through Airbnb.
Why it matters: It provides new opportunities for the proliferation of short-term rentals, even after city officials passed regulations intended to limit them.
Catch up quick: Last year, the city set new rules for managing short-term rentals to regulate the growing vacation-rental industry that's divided local property owners, neighbors and corporate investors for years.
Yes, but: The system hasn't fully worked as intended.
Zoom in: The rules require property owners and renters to secure licenses, and each host can only operate one unit within the city.
- When the regulations went into effect last May, dozens of property owners capitalized on a legal loophole and used "proxy hosts" — through individuals, LLCs, partnerships and family trusts — to acquire multiple licenses for their homes.
Between the lines: There is no limit to the number of complexes or units owned by a property management company that can be used as short-term rentals.
- By using renters as hosts, local apartment owners and property management companies can also profit from and fuel more Airbnbs.
The big picture: Many landlords don't permit short-term rentals, but some companies with big portfolios like Greystar have joined Airbnb's apartment platform.
- Apartments accounted for about 16% of the nation's Airbnb listings in April 2024, per AirDNA, a short-term rental analytics firm.
How it works: In 2022, Airbnb launched Airbnb-friendly apartments, a marketplace to help renters find apartment buildings where tenants 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 25% in San Diego.
State of play: Many of the local Airbnb-friendly apartments are in popular downtown areas, including East Village and Hillcrest.
- There's a cluster in the Mira Mesa and Scripps Ranch area, as well as around Del Mar and Carmel Valley near the beach.
- Most buildings let tenants rent out their abodes for up to 90 nights per year.
The intrigue: Tenants in San Diego who host on Airbnb typically earn about $9,200 a year — the highest among U.S. metro areas, per 2023 figures shared with Axios.
- Residents at Strata, 525 Olive and Park 12 Tower downtown can make the most money, with each averaging more than $1,000 in weekly Airbnb earnings.
- At Deerwood in Rancho Bernardo, hosts could also earn about $1,130.
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."