What happens when Airbnb comes to the neighborhood?

March 23, 2021
10:19 AM
Washington DC neighborhood

You've stayed at one and maybe thought about becoming a host, but what happens when Airbnb comes to the neighborhood? See Minhong Xu and Yilan Xu's results here:

"What happens when Airbnb comes to the neighborhood: The impact of home-sharing on neighborhood investment."

Abstract

Home-sharing increases the potential economic returns to residential properties. We examine how the expansion of Airbnb has stimulated neighborhood investment. Our instrumental variable estimates show that a one-percent increase in Airbnb listings raised the number of residential renovation projects by 0.527 percent and the value of retail renovation investment by 3.691 percent in the following quarter. Meanwhile, the net growth of liquor, retail food, and entertainment business licenses increased by 2.067, 3.933, and 0.755, respectively. The investment effects were driven disproportionately by commercial hosts operating multiple listings and were more prominent in declining neighborhoods.


Xu, M., & Xu, Y. (2021). "What happens when Airbnb comes to the neighborhood: The impact of home-sharing on neighborhood investment." Regional Science and Urban Economics(88). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.regsciurbeco.2021.103670