New Yorkers spend the bulk of their AirBnB income on rent
AirBnB has a new report out, showing how the service helps the economy of New York City.
In it, there's a chart about how the average AirBnB host spends the money that she makes on her listing.
It breaks down like this:
More than half of the money goes to housing costs. The second-largest chunk goes to vacation (presumably outside of the city). That means that most AirBnB revenue is transferred to other cities and NYC landlords.
Is AirBnB good for New Yorkers?
On the one hand, a lot of people can afford their rent better than they would otherwise be able to.
On the other hand, it's possible that AirBnB is indirectly driving up rents in Manhattan and Brooklyn (where most of the listings are located), making it harder for everyone else to live in the city.
There's an argument that AirBnB allows people to rent out their *extra* space. However, housing costs in the city are such that not many people actually have extra space that they wouldn't, without AirBnB, rent out to a longer term roommate (or move out to a smaller place, allowing new people to fill the larger space).
AirBnB says that its service allows a lot more visitors to come to the city at a cheaper price, and they end up spending more than the average hotel tourist while they are in town. That's probably good.
But space constraints are space constraints, and more tourists without more hotels mean fewer residents - and higher rents.