We know that Gen Z is a creative bunch—and they’re the embodiment of “work smarter, not harder.” Perhaps that’s why so many are pursuing an old side hustle known for scams in a new way: Airbnb.
Usually, you think of an Airbnb host as someone who, you know, owns the place they’re renting. According to Business Insider, the new trend is Airbnb arbitrage, where you sign a lease for a property, intending to sublet it at a higher price. With your marketing and decorating skills, you can make money on another person’s property without the hassle of actually owning and upkeeping it. That’s the idea, at least.
Videos by VICE
Some people, like a 21-year-old named Hailie Anderson, run entire businesses built on Airbnb arbitrage. She sublets dozens of places at once, then sells classes where she coaches people how to be like her.
Anderson claims to make $180,000 a month by arbitraging 48 Airbnbs, which she rents herself and upsells to even-shorter-term renters. “I was 19 when I started and nowhere near a position to purchase a home,” she says in one TikTok. “That’s when I stumbled upon the arbitrage method, which I think is amazing for beginners.”
After signing a lease agreement—and ensuring subleasing doesn’t break the contract—Anderson furnishes the properties and promotes them on popular rental sites like Airbnb.
There’s a lot to juggle, though, for Airbnb arbitrage to be profitable. In a Reddit thread where people almost universally agreed “that ship has long sailed,” they discussed the uphill battle of rent, furnishing costs, insurance, utilities, cleaning fees, amenities, replacement costs for damaged items, potential repairs, occupancy rates, nightly rental rates, and Airbnb fees and taxes. Most couldn’t imagine the numbers matching the required effort.
Anderson, in true Gen Z fashion, has side hustles for her side hustles, though. With her coaching program, she offers to teach others about starting their own arbitrage businesses. Her YouTube videos, with titles like “How I Made $500K On Airbnb In My First Year,” also have ads with special promo codes for rental management software.
As you might imagine, not everyone is happy with Gen Zers—60% of whom fear they’ll never own a home in the first place—using Airbnb for subletting. Airbnb rentals take long-term housing off the market and are often partly blamed for the increase in rents we’re witnessing across the country—which is rising faster than wages.
“I don’t think me personally having 48 Airbnbs is single-handedly affecting the whole entire housing crisis,” Anderson told Business Insider. “There’s a point where I try not to feel too guilty about it. But also, every single business negatively affects something in the world.”
With new research finding that 6 in 10 employers have fired Gen Z workers after hiring them out of college earlier this year—and 1 in 6 companies reportedly hesitant to hire recent college graduates—it’s no wonder people finding alternative streams of income.
