A recent article in the Chronicle dug deep into the available number of Airbnb rentals in each neighborhood in San Francisco, and the numbers are not insignificant. San Francisco currently boasts 4,798 Airbnb listings. Of those, almost two-thirds (2,984) are entire apartments or houses.
Curious how big of a presence Airbnb is in our neighborhood, we took a deeper look. Turns out, Western Addition and NoPa have 332 units registered on Airbnb. Of these, 128 are private rooms within a house, and 196 are entire homes or apartments. The average price per night is $173.
Alamo Square has 101 units registered, of which 27 are private rooms, seven are shared rooms, and 67 are full houses or apartments. Despite being a more touristy neighborhood than Western Addition, the average rate per night is the same: $173.
That means there are a total of 433 Airbnb rentals listed in our neighborhood. Despite the terminology, note that they're probably not all available at once, as many people rent their spare rooms or apartments when they leave town or when it's convenient for them. Similarly, the 263 total "entire homes or apartments" doesn't necessarily imply that people don't live there. Many are listed with the bonus that the host will vacate the premises when guests book the space, but the implication on many listings is still that the owner lives in the space mostly full-time.
As to what's on offer in our neighborhood, here are two examples:
On the pricier end, there's this stylish "flat" on Hayes for $333 a night. The price tag might seem high, but it sleeps four. When you do the math, that only comes out to $83 per person per night. From the description it appears the owner has been fixing up the apartment for several years, and lives there part time, though vacates when there are guests renting the space.
For the traveling couple on a budget, there's this more affordable option on Bush Street. The couple are renting their spare room, which boasts a high end air mattress.
As to how these numbers compare with the rest of San Francisco, they're pretty much in the middle. The priciest neighborhoods mostly correspond with the hottest tourist destinations, with Russian Hill rentals averaging $308 a night and Cow Hollow averaging $254 a night. Despite its central location, the Tenderloin only averages $123 a night.
Based on the listings we looked at, it seems like most of the Airbnb rentals in our neighborhood are owned by individuals. The one exception to this would be Come2SF. A property management company, they run 51 houses and apartments on Airbnb, six of which are in the Alamo Square neighborhood. They have listings on their own site, but it only takes a little research to find the same listings on Airbnb (such as this apartment here and here).
For a more comprehensive look at how Airbnb is impacting the city as a whole, check out the Chronicle's article.
What are your thoughts on Airbnb rentals? On one hand, they are an affordable, more personal way to travel that allows visitors to enjoy our city beyond a hotel window in Fisherman's Wharf. On the other, their presence may be impacting us during our already-catastrophic housing crisis. Let us know what you think in the comments.
