Assignment 4 NYC Airbnb Isabel Botero, Mary Hilliard, Megan Holzgrefe, and Alexandra Russo

The Host

I am looking to buy and list an apartment in with Airbnb to get some extra income. In order to get a better understanding of the industry, competition, and visitor preferences, I want to learn more about Airbnbs in NYC.

The Location

Which borough should my listing be located in? The five boroughs of New York - , Brooklyn, Queens, Bronx, Staten Island - all have unique aspects, but which should I pick for my listing? Well, looking at the differences in pricing across the boroughs, or neighborhood groups, would probably be the best place to start. It is clear that the average listing in Manhattan is much higher than the other boroughs, but that could be influenced by a lot of different factors. If I had the same exact listing in Manhattan and Brooklyn (the next most expensive borough), the Brooklyn listing would be about $81.40 less than the Manhattan listing. Since I am trying to maximize revenue, I think that purchasing a listing in Manhattan would be best for me.

Once in Manhattan, I need to choose the neighborhood. Of course, buying an apartment in some of these neighborhoods is going to be more expensive as demand gets higher and supply lower. However, based solely on price listings on Airbnb, the best neighborhoods would be , Flatiron District, and . These three neighborhoods tend to have high prices per night so I will be able to maximize revenue.

Room or Entire Apartment

Once I have the apartment, I need to decide if I want to rent out by room or the entire apartment. This will change if the apartment I buy has multiple rooms or just one but let’s assume I have the option of renting it out by rooms. When doing the analysis, I saw entire apartments have a much higher price (not surprising). In addition, rents for entire apartments happen more often. Perhaps people prefer renting out the entire apartment or else they would just book a hotel room. These two factors are pushing me to believe that the best option is for me to rent out the entire apartment instead of private or shared rooms.

The Listing Description

Now that I have my apartment picked out, I need to write a catchy name for the listing on Airbnb. I see that popular listing names start with adjectives, then location information. The most popular listing names start with Cozy, Private, Beautiful, Spacious, and Sunny. The highest average price for the top 10 most common first words are those for listings starting with Luxury, Modern, Beautiful, and Charming. Now, I don’t want to be misleading - I am not sure if I can qualify my listing as Luxury, unless I really invest in interior design. Modern and Beautiful sounds doable, but I also want to stand out. What’s a more catchy, unique way of saying Beautiful and Modern?

I know, what about “Stunning” or “Elegant” or “Gorgeous”? Here’s a great, data-driven name: Gorgeous Contemporary Tribeca Apartment

The Guest

I am a young female traveler looking to spend a long weekend in New York City without spending too much. I figure I can make some concessions on where I stay, so I have more money to spend on activities - I am hoping to go to a show on ! But, it is also important to me that I am in a safe area, with a well-known host that I can trust.

First, I decided to compare places to stay in each of the five boroughs. Which has the most options to choose from in listings in the Cheap category - under $150 a night?

Neighborhood

Examining the data, Brooklyn has the highest volume of listings for under $150 a night. And it looks like as far as price distribution, Brooklyn is a happy medium between Manhattan and Queens. Brooklyn sounds good so far, but which neighborhood?

Host and Listing

It looks like Bedford–Stuyvesant has the most options for listings under $150 a night. To find the best place to stay, I want to find somewhere with a lot of reviews, so I know it is safe and reliable. I decided to check and see which host as the most reviews in the database, and Host 67987135 has the most reviews. I looked him up on Airbnb, and Siyi has a great apartment near a subway station for only $89 a night. There are even two bedrooms, so maybe I’ll invite a friend to tag along so we can split the cost.