What are Airbnb Rooms?

Your extra space can be a way to earn money and meet people. If you have a spare bedroom, you can set up a listing and welcome guests into your home.

“It’s very rewarding, and not just financially,” says Eric, a Superhost in Los Angeles. “Guests come to California to have their own adventure, but it’s also a nice adventure for us, because we don’t know who’s going to be on the other side of the door. We get to learn a lot about places around the globe.”

Rooms are popular worldwide, ranking third in bookings among all types of places to stay on Airbnb.* Guests can find and book Rooms by searching that Airbnb Category or selecting Rooms on the search filter.

Here’s what you need to know to get started hosting a Room.

With a Room, a guest gets their own private bedroom in a Host’s home, plus access to common areas that they may share with others.

To qualify as a Room, a listing needs to meet all these criteria:

• The guest has their own private bedroom with a door.

• The guest has access to a private or shared bathroom.

• The guest has access to at least one common space, such as a kitchen, living room, or backyard.

• Hosts use their own name on their listing, rather than a business or other name.

• “Room” is selected as the listing or room type in a Host’s listing settings.

• The private room is not a shared room, hotel, resort, tent, camper, standalone unit (such as a backyard bungalow), or any other type of property on this list.

If your listing doesn’t meet these criteria, choose another type of place when you set up your listing.

Spare rooms can do far more than collect dust or store extra stuff. The benefits of turning that extra bedroom into a Room include:

• Earning money. In 2022, Rooms Hosts made over $2.9 billion USD worldwide, and the median earnings were up more than 20% from 2021.**

• Connecting with people. Sharing your home, interests, culture, and local insights can lead to meaningful interactions with travellers.

• Using space you already have. Your spare room could provide paying guests a comfortable place to sleep, without incurring a lot of the start-up costs that hosting an entire home might.

“I have a big house and live on my own, and I’ve got the perfect location and situation for hosting,” says Ruth, a Host in Perth, Australia. “I didn’t have to go to great expense to buy beds, redo rooms, move furniture, or anything like that.”

Tap the button below to set up a new Rooms listing or finish one you’ve already started.

*Based on Airbnb global data collected between May 2022 and March 2023

**Median earnings for all Rooms Hosts globally

Information contained in this article may have changed since publication.