As calm as these properties might look, the platform's users are currently uneasy. Whispers of an apocalyptic "Airbnbust" have spread online among short-term-rental hosts facing empty booking calendars, stiff competition, and tumbling earnings. The shift has sparked fears of an irreversible slide in the business and a broader economic slowdown. 

And when you look at the numbers, you get a similar picture. Of the 1.2 million Airbnb listings in the US, 62% have been added since 2020, according to a chart that Jamie Lane, the vice president of research at the short-term-rental analytics firm AirDNA, tweeted on October 18.

An abundance of long-term bookings due to loosened travel restrictions and remote-work policies spoiled newcomers who joined during the Airbnb boom.

Even if bookings stalled and the hosts were relying on the Airbnb income to cover the mortgage, those hosts still had a safety net because home prices were going up; they could sell and still come out on top.

But now, home-price appreciation has slowed and, in a few places across the US, home prices are actually falling. That puts people who invested in short-term in a tough position.

However, the distress over the idea of a downturn ignores a conflicting and undeniable reality: as a whole, the short-term rental business is bigger than ever. Some operators are thriving like never before.

The number of nights booked at US short-term rentals reached a record high in 2022, as did total revenue, according to AirDNA, which tracks properties listed on the vacation-rental sites Airbnb and Vrbo. 

While writing his latest book, The Airbnb Way, psychologist-turned-author Joseph Michelli and his four-person team interviewed hundreds of hosts and guests in 11 countries.

Their research also included stays in treehouses, yurts, and dozens of other impressive listings, and revealed that good hosts deliver memorable experiences because they are really plugged into what guests want. Having said that, Michelli believes not every guest wants the same thing and that it's also pretty important.

"Most of the time, hosts (and guests) want a clean environment, and they want someone to care that they're there," he said. "How that's demonstrated varies, but I think they want people to be responsive and to try to guide them ... It's why they think many hotels have lost their souls, and there's an absence of human connection. I think most hosts get it."

"At a macro level, I think hosting may be one of the most noble things we can do," Michelli said. "In a world where there is a lot of division, hostility, and cynicism, I think being able to welcome people into an environment we’ve created for them—and doing so without prejudice and judgment, hopefully learning from and sharing with others—is an incredibly noble phenomenon."

In its shareholder letter, Airbnb said it’s seeing continued strong demand at the start of 2023. The company said revenue in the first quarter will be between $1.75 billion and $1.82 billion, above the $1.69 billion expected by analysts polled by Refinitiv.

And the properties we see in the pictures are definitely contributing!