In all the talk of Airbnb in the air recently, which seems to be centered on the service's ubiquity in the Bywater, most of the evidence of it taking over the neighborhood and the rest of the city is anecdotal. For some quantifiable information about Airbnb's impact on the Bywater and other New Orleans neighborhoods, the website Inside Airbnb, which skews on the anti-Airbnb side, has the numbers.
According to the site, which is not affiliated with Airbnb and culls data from public sources, there at least 2,614 Airbnb listings in New Orleans. The city requires short-term rental operators to obtain a permit, but the site points out that the city only has 320 properties on the registry. Out of all the New Orleans Airbnbs, approximately 1,211 listings (46 percent) advertise for an "entire home/apartment" rented out an average of 193 nights per year. "With the 'host' not present in these 'homes,' these listings are illegal, and more importantly taking away residential housing in a city named by CNN/Money as one of the worst cities for renters in the U.S.," the site says.
Looking at the Bywater specifically, Inside Airbnb says 71.6 percent of hosts are offering entire homes/apartments, that Airbnbs are occupied roughly 175 nights a year in listings that are available 95 percent of the time (which likely means the owner isn't there much). Also, 46 percent of hosts operate multiple listings. "Hosts with multiple listings are more likely to be running a business, are unlikely to be living in the property, and in violation of most short term rental laws designed to protect residential housing," says the site. The current "top host" listed is operating five listings.
You can look at data for other neighborhoods by selecting from a drop-down menu on the site. How is Airbnb affecting your 'hood?
· New Orleans [Inside Airbnb]
· Airbnb Debate is Reaching a Fever Pitch in NOLA [Curbed NOLA]