The boom in Airbnb apartment rentals in San Francisco
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A growing number of apartment buildings are allowing tenants to bank extra cash by renting out their units for short stays on the San Francisco-based platform Airbnb.
Why it matters: Rental affordability has plunged in recent years, and those who rent are feeling especially poor about their finances, according to the Axios Vibes survey by The Harris Poll.
State of play: Tenants in the San Francisco metro area who hosted on Airbnb typically earned about $7,000 a year, per 2023 figures shared with Axios.
- Argenta, Olume and Edgewater are among the 17 San Francisco metro-area buildings where renters can host part time, according to Airbnb's website.
- Short-term rentals allow tenants to supplement living costs and benefit from periods of high demand, Airbnb global head of real estate Jesse Stein told real estate news outlet The Real Deal in November.
- "When Dreamforce is in town, you should be able to host your primary home and go stay with a friend or go to Tahoe and make a thousand bucks for the weekend," he said.
Between the lines: 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 over 40 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.
Yes, but: There is lingering concern that Airbnb's presence drives up rent and home prices in the Bay Area.
The big picture: San Francisco has taken steps to regulate Airbnb's short-term rental marketplace in a bid to minimize its impact on the local housing crisis.
- Hosts must register with the city, pay an application fee and report all stays on a quarterly basis. They are also subject to the same 14% transient occupancy tax as hotels.
- Un-hosted rentals — in which the tenant is not home overnight at the same time as their guest — are limited to 90 nights per calendar year.
What's next: The company says it will advocate for short-term rental rules that allow renters in more cities to share their space.