Women made over R132 billion with Airbnb since its launch

The global accommodation phenomenon that is Airbnb has provided lucrative benefits for women around the world. Since its launch in 2008, female hosts across the world have made over $10 billion (R132 billion) worldwide according to a recent study done by Airbnb for International Women’s Day.

This is particularly interesting as the gender pay gap could reportedly take up to 170 years to close according to the World Economic Forum. And not only that, but it has in fact widened over the last four years.

This extra income helps many women and their families – especially in developing economies. In Kenya the typical female host earns enough from Airbnb to cover over one-third of the average annual household expenditure. In India it covers 31% , and in Morocco, 20%.

In South Africa, over 14 000 hosts are women - making up 63% of the local hosting community. These women typically earn over R25 000 a year from hosting. 18% of these women also use Airbnb as a means to supplement their income while working part time.

Do you use Airbnb to make some extra money? Tell us about it.