Airbnb London, Barcelona Apartments Make Millions For Landlords

One Airbnb host pulled in £11.9 million in one year by renting out 881 properties throughout London, an AirDNA analysis finds.

The unnamed AirBnb user’s account would be the most profitable across the lodging-rental app, but AirDNA CEO Scott Shatford says the multi-million pound account likely belongs to several owners who manage several rental-sharing properties. Shatford tells The Telegraph that entire businesses have emerged under single accounts yet manage dozens or hundreds of properties.

“These are businesses that have emerged in this new economy, with hundreds of employees, managing other people’s second homes,” he told The Daily Telegraph.

These types of accounts are abundant, with top owners in Paris, Barcelona and Cape Town all earning at least one million pounds for a dozen or more apartments, rooms or entire homes. The AirDNA data reflects a business that has transformed from simple apartment-sharing or room-sharing into vast property management schemes spread throughout entire cities.

According to the data, the highest earning landlords behind the 881 million London account are in Bali (504 million), Cape Town (114 million), Havana (132 million), Sydney (245 million), Paris (82 million) and Barcelona (162 million).

According to Shatford, Property management companies now make up 35 percent of global hosts on the platform and that some are renting out more than 1,000 rooms, aparaments and homes on behalf of the property's actual owners.

“We’re seeing traditional property management companies operating as many as 1,000 listings," said Shatford. "These numbers don’t show a multimillionaire sitting on a gold mine. These are businesses that have emerged in this new economy, with hundreds of employees, managing other people’s second homes.”

Airbnb maintains that 80 percent of its U.K. hosts are still individuals rather than property management companies, but that it's difficult to see who exactly is subletting.

“It’s getting harder and harder to decipher what is a corporate rental hotel against the one where Jane is going to meet you at the door and tell you all about the cool things to do in town,” Shatford said.