Airbnb has grown to become not only a great alternative to staying in a hotel but, for many part- and full-time entrepreneurs, a solid source of additional income. It turns out that one group of entrepreneurs in particular is benefiting from the online hospitality service and it’s not who you may think. It’s entrepreneurial … teachers.
According to a new report issued by the company, almost 10% of the people renting out their homes and properties on Airbnb work in education. How big a deal is this? The company estimates that their 45,000 teacher hosts earned a whopping $160m in 2017, with roughly one-third of their total annual Airbnb earnings from hosting during the summer months alone. On average, teachers earned about $6,500 in supplemental income a year from their Airbnb businesses. In Utah and Wisconsin alone, more than a quarter of all Airbnb hosts that were surveyed said they worked in education. Ohio, with one in five hosts working in the industry, is a close third.
Why is there such a disproportionate number of teachers making money on Airbnb? The company believes that teachers make great hosts because being a host is a “natural extension of the knowledge and compassion they have shared throughout their careers”.
For example, one host, a former college lecturer from Vermont says that Airbnb has filled a void since she retired and gives her a chance to “share the unique life” she’s had with her visitors. A bilingual arts teacher in Los Angeles said that Airbnb is “a natural extension of who I am, and how I share, as I did in the classroom, my food, my space, my knowledge and my heart”. One New York City public school teacher probably summed it best. “In teaching,” she said, “there are best practices one must observe and exercise – commitment, integrity, compassion, knowledge and hospitality. In hosting, one realizes that best practices are very similar when guests choose to stay at your place.”
It sounds great, and it is. I’m a believer that teachers – with their natural curiosity about others and their desire to help people learn more – are probably great Airbnb hosts. It’s also the kind of entrepreneurial activity that dovetails well with their schedules. But I’m not so sure that this is the main reason why so many educators are becoming Airbnb entrepreneurs.
I think the main reason is money. Teachers’ salaries lag behind many other professions. According to a report from the National Education Association, the average earnings of workers with at least four years of college are now over 50% higher than the average earnings of a teacher. The fact is that teachers need more money to make ends meet and marketplaces like Airbnb are perfectly suited to their skill set.
Sure, sometimes becoming an entrepreneur is about your skills. But in many cases – like this one – it’s also about the money. Would so many teachers become part-time Airbnb entrepreneurs if they were paid better? That’s a question I’d like to see in the next study.
