Airbnb Hosting History vs Portfolio Size: Does Early Adoption Matter?
We analyzed 372 vacation rental companies to see if early adopters of Airbnb have larger portfolios than those who joined later.
We analyzed 372 vacation rental companies to see if early adopters of Airbnb had larger portfolios than those who adopted later on, and to see if bigger companies delayed adoption.
Our analysis found that there is no correlation between Airbnb tenure and portfolio size. Early adopters average exactly 158 properties, which is close to the overall dataset average.
We observed that companies with just 1 year on Airbnb include operators with 200-650+ properties and the largest portfolio in the dataset (1,876 properties) belongs to a company with just 5 years on Airbnb.
This data suggests that larger companies who have grown independently of Airbnb have joined the platform relatively recently.
Key Findings
No correlation between Airbnb tenure and portfolio size
Larger companies who have grown independently of Airbnb have joined the platform relatively recently
Early adopters average 158 properties—nearly identical to the overall average
The 5 largest portfolios all belong to companies with less than 10 years on Airbnb
~20% are early adopters (10+ years), ~80% are late adopters (<10 years)
Companies with just 1 year on Airbnb include operators with 200-650+ properties
The majority (138 companies) joined 7-9 years ago during Airbnb's professional vacation rental expansion
Methodology
Data Collection
We collected two metrics for each vacation rental company:
- Property Count — The number of short-term rental properties displayed on each company's direct booking website.
- Years Hosting on Airbnb — The number of years the company has been hosting on Airbnb, as seen on their known Airbnb host profile.
Important Notes
- Property counts from direct websites: Unlike many competitive intelligence vendors, Nearsight collects property counts directly from company websites, not from Airbnb profiles.
- Single Airbnb profile per company: Our dataset includes only one Airbnb profile per company. While not extremely common, some PMCs use multiple host accounts to manage their listings.
Definitions
- Early Adopters: Companies that have been hosting on Airbnb for 10 or more years.
- Late Adopters: Companies that have been hosting on Airbnb for less than 10 years.
Exclusions
We proactively excluded national brands known to use multiple Airbnb host accounts, including Evolve, AvantStay, Vacasa, and similar operators.
Airbnb Host Account Age vs Portfolio Size
Each dot represents one company, plotted by their years on Airbnb and direct website property count.
What the Data Shows
- No tenure advantage: The largest portfolios (1,000+ properties) appear across years 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9—tenure doesn't predict company size.
- Newer hosts aren't small: Companies with just 1 year on Airbnb include operators with 200-650+ properties, proving these are established businesses adding Airbnb late.
- Concentration in years 7-10: The densest cluster of companies joined Airbnb 7-10 years ago, coinciding with Airbnb's push into vacation rentals (2015-2018).
- The largest isn't the earliest: The largest PMC in the dataset (1,800+ properties) has been hosting for only 5 years—less than half of our maximum range (15 years).
Early vs Late Adopters
Comparing companies by their Airbnb tenure classification.
Early Adopters (10+ years)
Companies that joined Airbnb in 2015 or earlier
Late Adopters (<10 years)
Companies that joined Airbnb in 2016 or later
Key Takeaway
Early adopters have a higher median (111 vs 87), suggesting more consistent mid-sized portfolios. But late adopters include the industry's largest operators—the top 5 portfolios are all from companies with less than 10 years on Airbnb.
This suggests the biggest vacation rental companies either grew independently of Airbnb or used Airbnb as a distribution channel after already establishing significant scale.
What This Means
1. Airbnb Tenure ≠ Business Success
Being an early Airbnb adopter didn't create lasting competitive advantages. Companies that joined 5-7 years ago are just as likely (or more likely) to have large portfolios as those with 12-15 years of hosting history.
2. Established Operators Came Late
The presence of 200-650+ property operators with only 1 year on Airbnb proves that large, established vacation rental companies are still joining the platform. Airbnb is increasingly a distribution channel for existing businesses, not just a platform for building new ones.
3. 2015-2018 Was the Inflection Point
The majority of companies (138 out of 372) joined Airbnb 7-9 years ago, coinciding with Airbnb's major push into vacation rentals around 2015-2017. This was when professional property managers started taking the platform seriously as a channel.
Data Sourcing & Limitations
Data Sourcing
Property counts were captured by analyzing each company's primary booking website on December 29, 2025.
Years hosting data was captured from verified Airbnb host profiles on December 29, 2025.
Companies included in this study are part of Nearsight's database of vacation rental companies across the United States.
Limitations
- Point-in-time snapshot — Property counts and tenure data represent a single capture date.
- Single Airbnb profile — Some companies use multiple host accounts; we captured only one per company.
- US-focused sample — Results may not generalize to international markets.
- Excluded known multi-host account users — National brands with multiple Airbnb accounts (i.e.: Evolve, AvantStay, Vacasa) were excluded.
Intelligence that drives growth.
Track what your competitors are doing—from portfolio changes to marketing campaigns—and use those insights to grow your business.