Most Expensive AirBnB City? Boston Edges Cancun, New York City

Quick quiz: Which international city is the most expensive when it comes to traveling with Airbnb. No, it’s not Manhattan or Brooklyn, the two most expensive cities in America, or even London, which recently overtook Hong Kong as the most expensive place to live in the world. It’s Boston: home of New England clam chowder, the MLB's Red Sox and an average nightly accommodation bill of $274.

That’s according to newly released figures from travel website GoEuro’s Accommodation Price Index, which compiled data from hotels, hostels and startups around the world to find out which cities and services are the most desired by travelers. New York was the most expensive city when it came to hostels and hotels but ranked in third place (behind Cancun, $247) for the most expensive Airbnb bill, with an average fee of $231. Rounding out the top five are Dubai ($226) and Macao ($213).

Boston, which has a number of universities in the area, has seen a 63 percent increase in Airbnb listings since July 2013, according to the Boston Globe. The surge has been so successful, the newspaper reported, that a growing number of renters who previously struggled to pay their bills have been able to cut hours at their full-time job.

The rise in popularity has also coincided with New York City’s reluctance to fully legalize the startup. The city, which has fostered a long rivalry with Boston in a number of arenas, has argued in court that a New Yorker’s apartment “may only be used as a private residence and may not be rented for transient, hotel or motel purposes.”