Airbnb Delivers Economic Empowerment
Millions of visitors from around the world come to Los Angeles each year to visit the area’s world-class beaches and dozens of cultural and entertainment options. These visitors spend billions of dollars on lodging, dining and other activities around our city. Until recently, the majority of that spending went to large entertainment companies and hotel chains. Thanks to the sharing economy and companies like Airbnb, residents like myself finally have an opportunity to directly benefit from the city’s tourism industry.
I own a home in Westchester, about an eight-minute drive from LAX. Every day I am aware of the thousands of travelers that come to our city, but I never thought it was something that I — a teacher and small business owner — could benefit from.
I moved to Los Angeles when I was 18 years old to study and pursue my career. My dream was to one day own my own home and run my own business. Years of hard work began to pay off when, 12 years ago, I was able to purchase my own home and open up a preschool and daycare.
Things have not always been easy. A few years ago, I dislocated my arm. With no health insurance and most of my income going to pay medical bills, I was struggling to pay my mortgage and was at risk of losing both my home and my business.
When I explained my situation to my friend, she suggested I try home-sharing on Airbnb to help earn some extra money. It was a natural fit for an entrepreneur like me. Sharing my home allows me to use my people skills to earn extra income from the home that I have invested in for over 12 years.
I no longer have to worry during the summer months or times that enrollment in the preschool is down. I have even been able to expand my business to employ three assistant teachers who help me instruct students in both English and Spanish.
I recently learned that women who participate in the sharing economy through sharing their home on Airbnb earned $6,600 last year in extra income, which is enough to cover more than 60% of the gender wage gap in the U.S. In addition, more than 10,000 women hosts across the country have used their Airbnb income to support their own entrepreneurship, according
to a report on medium.com
by Airbnb’s policy team (@AirbnbCitizen).
For many of us, home sharing has been an opportunity to deal with the rising cost of living in big cities like Los Angeles, and has given us a path forward in this new economy. Being an Airbnb host has allowed us to have a new source of income not to get rich, but to stay in our homes and support our dreams.
Mariza Mendoza
Owner, Readiness Family Daycare, Westchester
While there are obvious economic advantages to sharing one’s home, what we are actually seeing is a reduction in the available rooms for permanent residents, which will only exacerbate the homelessness problem. You want to rent out a room? Then rent one to someone wo lives in LA and needs a place to live…
Most of the opposition to AirBnB is NOT about people renting out rooms in their own home while they’re at home, or even renting out the whole home when they’re away for short times: it’s about turning houses, whole buildings, or even an entire residential neighborhood, into hotels with NO on-site management, where people on vacation party late, disturbing long-term resident neighbors whom they will never see again.
Rachel, not everyone wants a long-term roommate year-round in their home. The housing shortage and homelessness issues are not caused by people sharing their homes as short-term-rentals. The shortage of affordable housing is a direct result of developers building luxury and market price housing while neglecting affordable housing development. Homelessness is a complex issue and has little or nothing do do with people like Mariza sharing a room in her home to make ends meet.
Tom, thank you for recognizing the root of the “Airbnb problem”. Is is not homeowners sharing their principal residence, but rather commercial operators and absentee owners who have multiple listings with little or no oversight as to who is renting their homes and how that impacts the neighborhood.