Airbnb’s rise has no ceiling

Anyone travelling to Latin America in the near future and seeking accommodation should look at option of using Airbnb.

Airbnb, as in ‘Air Bed and Breakfast’, is a service that lets property owners rent out their spaces to travellers looking for a place to stay. Travelers can rent a space for multiple people to share, a shared space with private rooms, or the entire property for themselves. There seems to be a growing trend in the Cayman Islands to become Airbnb hosts.

Airbnb was started by Brian Chesky and Joe Gebbia, two industrial designers that had recently moved to San Francisco. Unable to afford the rent for their loft at the time, the pair decided to make up the money they needed by renting out their apartment to people who couldn’t find or afford hotels to stay at while attending nearby trade shows. They set up air mattresses in the apartment’s living room for their guests to sleep on and cooked homemade breakfast in the morning. Since then, Airbnb has become one of the trailblazers of peer-to-peer property rental.

Airbnb has since grown to over four million hosts who have welcomed more than 1 billion guest arrivals in almost every country globally. Every day, hosts offer unique stays and experiences that make it possible for guests to connect with communities in a more authentic way.

Airbnb revealed that in Latin America, the Airbnb trade grew 33 percent more than in the same quarter of 2021. The platform now offers personalised guidance from a super host and direct assistance from its community team for new Hosts.

Amidst a rising cost of living crisis, earning much-needed income has never been more important. This is leading to a new wave of people considering hosting for the first time. Since the beginning of the pandemic, over 60 million unique visitors have visited Airbnb’s host page, with over 40 percent of those visiting in the last year. 

According to a recent survey, almost half of hosts globally said the money they’ve earned through hosting has helped them stay in their home. Globally 46 percent say they’ve used the extra money to pay for food and other items that have become more expensive, while one in 10 said it has helped them avoid eviction or foreclosure.

People are more flexible than ever before, and Airbnb believe with that flexibility comes the ability to occasionally share your space, whatever size. In fact, new private rooms listings added to the platform globally are up 31 percent in the past year. 

Airbnb is becoming an increasingly popular travel option in the Caribbean, according to its latest business results. This coupled with the approaching vacation season makes today the best time to become a host on Airbnb and earn extra income. To make the process easier, the platform announced its new Airbnb setup will offer guidance from 1,500 superhosts to help new hosts get started, an experienced guest for your first booking and specialised support from Airbnb.

Chesky, Airbnb CEO, said: “Airbnb was born during a recession. Joe and I couldn’t afford rent, so we inflated three mattresses and created an Air Bed and Breakfast. Soon, people from all over the world joined us. Today, just like during the great recession of 2008, people are especially interested in earning income by being hosts on the platform. That’s why we’re introducing an easy way for millions of people to start sharing a space through Airbnb.”