Airbnb has become a great way for visitors and vacationers to find affordable, lived-in places to stay during their travels. But if you’re looking to stay in a big city, large apartment buildings are often out of reach due to strict rules shunning rentals through Airbnb.
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But this week, the company revealed its newest initiative featuring Airbnb-friendly apartments —around 175 pre-approved buildings for apartment rentals in more than 25 major metro areas in the U.S.
Renters who are interested in being longer-term or frequent hosts can check through the list of Airbnb-approved buildings and use the platform’s tools to estimate potential monthly earnings based on leasing prices, how many guests would be staying, etc, should they decide to lease from one of the website’s pre-approved buildings. The new initiative is ideal for prospective hosts looking for a new apartment or a new lease in one of the 25+ cities that the Airbnb-approved apartments are in.
Airbnb will also give those users direct contact access to building management and leasing offices to make the process easier and more streamlined. The feature is set to expand to more cities in the coming months.
“As the cost of living continues to rise, renters can use the extra income earned by hosting part-time on Airbnb to contribute to their rent, save for a home, or pay for other living expenses,” Nathan Blecharzyck, Airbnb Co-Founder and Chief Strategy Officer said in a company statement.
The company reports that per results of a recent poll, almost 75% of U.S. adults are in favor of allowing renters to share apartments for short-term periods, also noting that 41% of Airbnb hosts say that their primary reason for renting is to cover the increasing cost of living in the U.S.
Airbnb has put limitations on how many nights per calendar year each renter can host Airbnb guests, and notes that the new program is intended for renters who want this property to be their primary residence (instead of renters snatching up multiple properties in hopes of monopolizing the rental market in each building).
The company has implemented other major changes in the past six months in order to make using the platform a more user-friendly experience for both renters and guests.
In July, Airbnb rolled out a permanent ban on parties and gatherings inside rented properties, with occupancy for all properties hitting a max of 16 people.
RELATED: Airbnb Is Trying to Get More ‘Everyday’ People To Host With This New Feature
Earlier this month, CEO Brian Chesky told users that the company would be revamping its cleaning fee and checkout policies that are often complained about, including more transparent prices that include cleaning fees and asking hosts to not make unreasonable checkout requests of guests upon their departure.
Airbnb was up just shy of 6% in a 24-hour period on Wednesday afternoon upon the news.
