Airbnb’s Talking Points About Individual Hosts Hit a Reality Check

When pressed about an analytics company report that found 38 percent of Airbnb hosts offered only one listing, an Airbnb spokesperson countered this week, without elaboration, that "the vast majority of active Airbnb hosts are sharing just one home as single-listing hosts."

That statement, which conflicts with an AirDNA report about the nature of Airbnb's 6.3 million active listings as of October, seemed to be a concession when measured against Airbnb's perennial drumbeat of statements since at least the prelude to its 2020 IPO that 90 percent of Airbnb hosts are individuals.

The issue is an important one because many Airbnb guests crave a local experience from an individual host, and these hosts are also sensitive to the fact that property managers have undoubtably gained share in bookings on Airbnb in recent years versus solo hosts. Airbnb knows that guests want that person-to-person and guest-to-host experience.

As recently as last month, Airbnb Ch