Link to dataset.

You can see my code here.

I've always been curious about the people who put up their homes on AirBnb in New York City. Who are these people? Why do they have so many houses? Let's get nosy. More broadly, I was interested in finding out how many people could potentially be doing it commercially, because then AirBnb is not the cute couch-surfing platform it claims to be 😔 and is worsening the city's housing crisis 👎

The home-sharing movement that Airbnb spearheaded began with the exciting prospect of opening up your home to strangers, meeting interesting new people on the way, all while making some extra bucks on the side. But over the years, the concept has morphed into something a little more sinister. Short-term rentals turn out to be much more profitable for landlords in tourist-heavy cities like New York, compared to year-long leases. But in this case, what’s good for visitors is bad for residents. Affordable housing in cities like New York and San Francisco is on the decline and housing advocates are pointing the finger at Airbnb.

Over the years, multiple legislation has been passed in the city to reduce the Airbnb effect in the housing market. The most recent bill might require all tenants interested in short-term rentals to register with the city before listing their apartment on the app. But it is unclear when it will take effect.

My goal with this project is to try to understand who the average Airbnb host in New York is. Are the majority of the hosts renting their spare room? Or are commercial listings more prevalent? Let’s dig deeper.