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Enhancing our understanding of short-term rental activity: A daily scrape-based approach for Airbnb listings

Author

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  • Yang Wang
  • Mark Livingston
  • David P McArthur
  • Nick Bailey

Abstract

The growth of the online short-term rental market, facilitated by platforms such as Airbnb, has added to pressure on cities’ housing supply. Without detailed data on activity levels, it is difficult to design and evaluate appropriate policy interventions. Up until now, the data sources and methods used to derive activity measures have not provided the detail and rigour needed to robustly carry out these tasks. This paper demonstrates an approach based on daily scrapes of the calendars of Airbnb listings. We provide a systematic interpretation of types of calendar activity derived from these scrapes and define a set of indicators of listing activity levels. We exploit a unique period in short-term rental markets during the UK’s first COVID-19 lockdown to demonstrate the value of this approach.

Suggested Citation

  • Yang Wang & Mark Livingston & David P McArthur & Nick Bailey, 2024. "Enhancing our understanding of short-term rental activity: A daily scrape-based approach for Airbnb listings," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 19(2), pages 1-18, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:plo:pone00:0298131
    DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0298131
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Zhenpeng Zou, 2020. "Examining the Impact of Short-Term Rentals on Housing Prices in Washington, DC: Implications for Housing Policy and Equity," Housing Policy Debate, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 30(2), pages 269-290, March.
    2. Horn, Keren & Merante, Mark, 2017. "Is home sharing driving up rents? Evidence from Airbnb in Boston," Journal of Housing Economics, Elsevier, vol. 38(C), pages 14-24.
    3. Ismael Yrigoy, 2019. "Rent gap reloaded: Airbnb and the shift from residential to touristic rental housing in the Palma Old Quarter in Mallorca, Spain," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 56(13), pages 2709-2726, October.
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    Cited by:

    1. Harrison Katz, 2026. "Coupled Supply and Demand Forecasting in Platform Accommodation Markets," Papers 2603.00422, arXiv.org, revised Apr 2026.

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