Women take the lead in showcasing Filipino hospitality on Airbnb

Filipino women are the driving force of Airbnb’s Host community in the Philippines, according to the latest data released by the company. 

With approximately 65 percent of Airbnb Stays (accommodation bookings) in the country being hosted by Filipino women, the Philippines tops the platform’s list of most gender-diverse host communities alongside Australia. 

Cebu City ranks second globally (67 percent) for the highest percentage of women hosts at a city level, followed by Quezon City and Manila (66 percent). 

Philippine figures are notably higher than the global average of 55 percent (2 million women hosts out of 4 million).

“The pandemic has been incredibly difficult for all of us, but especially hard for women. We have seen a record-setting departure of women from the workforce,” laments Amanpreet Bajaj, Airbnb general manager for India, Southeast Asia, Hong Kong, and Taiwan. 

Bajaj is referring to recent data from UN Women which show the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic to women, as most are employed in hard-hit retail and hospitality industries. 

“And yet, at the same time, we have seen many women turn to hosting on Airbnb,” he adds. 

Globally, new women hosts who started hosting just one listing on Airbnb since March 2020 have collectively earned more than $600 million. In the Philippines, 64 percent of new hosts who joined the platform at the start of the pandemic were women.

The trend extends to Experiences (activities) as well. Sine Airbnb launched Online Experiences in April 2020 — an idea proposed by its Host community – women now comprise 51 percent of hosts. In a recent survey, 35 percent of these women shared that they started their Online Experience to replace lost income from a full-time or part-time job, and 23 percent said it was their primary source of income.