Having used Airbnb for years while travelling abroad, senior Maxine Louie decided to take advantage of the influx of travellers who sought accommodation in Toronto when the city hosted the Pan-Am Games in 2015.
She spruced up the colourful four-bedroom house that she鈥檚 been living in for more than 20 years and had her son, an Airbnb photographer, snap pictures to upload to the popular space-sharing app.
Suddenly the 68-year-old retired physiotherapist had found a whole new income source. She now nearly year-round. And while she is not struggling financially, the extra income from Airbnb allows her more flexibility when travelling.
鈥淚t really bridges those gaps,鈥� she told CTVNews.ca in telephone interview from Toronto.
According to released Tuesday by Airbnb, Louie is not an anomaly. The report found that people over the age of 60 were the fastest growing host demographic on the home-sharing app in the past 12 months in Toronto and its surrounding region. 鈥淭hose aged 60 and older grew by 54 per cent in the last year, the report noted, 鈥渙utpacing all other host brackets.鈥�
Senior hosts pocket on average $6,700 per year, making them among the highest Airbnb earners in Toronto and the surrounding area, the report found.
By comparison, the basic Old Age Security pension in Canada is $570.52 per month. In 2017, the average monthly Canada Pension Plan payment at age 65 was 685.11.
Despite the rise in popularity, seniors still account for only 6 per cent of the GTA鈥檚 11,000 active Airbnb hosts, the company said.
The report also found that:
- Senior hosts in Toronto make on average $6,700 per year
- Seniors earn $1,800 more than the annual earnings of a typical Toronto area Airbnb host ($4,900)
- In the past year, the typical amounts of total nights hosted by a senior Airbnb host was 55
It鈥檚 not only in Toronto that seniors are jumping on the Airbnb bandwagon. A released last November noted the 鈥渞apid embrace of home sharing by the older adult community鈥� in the United States, where nearly one-in-five Americans are retirees.
The trends are similar in Vancouver, Airbnb said in an earlier report, where the typical senior host makes approximately $12,000 annually in Airbnb earnings.
In the report, Airbnb said that they are helping to provide an 鈥渋mportant support鈥� for older Torontonians who may otherwise lack sufficient retirement savings.
Alex Dagg, a public policy manager for Airbnb in Canada, told CTVNews.ca that in her conversations with senior Airbnb hosts, 鈥渋t鈥檚 really clear that they鈥檙e embracing Airbnb as an opportunity to earn extra income and age in their homes.鈥�
She added: 鈥淓veryone is experiencing increasing costs and challenges to keep your home and this is a way of earning some supplemental income, which can help. Some of them might on fixed incomes at that point.鈥�
According to Airbnb, senior hosts in the Toronto area are not only the fasting growing demographic, they鈥檙e also really good at it. Senior-operated Airbnbs in Toronto have the highest percentage of 5-star reviews compared to hosts in other age brackets.
In her listing, Louie has several photos of the spacious home. She plays up the proximity to Toronto鈥檚 Greektown neighbourhood. In the reviews, past guests rave about Maxine鈥檚 warmth and recommendations on what to see and do while in Toronto.
Louie, who lives with her partner, said certain times of the year are busier than others, but she enjoys having the house to herself during slow times.
鈥淚t鈥檚 much busier in the summer, I found out,鈥� she said.
Louie said she鈥檚 enjoyed meeting her guests, and has had positive experiences. When Vietnamese students came to stay with her for one week while they looked for a permanent home in Toronto, she offered to drive their U-Haul on moving day and help them settle in.
鈥淚 was just really happy I could help them out,鈥� Louie said. Now settled in Toronto, some of the students come to visit her regularly.
Louie said she鈥檚 heard some of the horror stories about renters destroying people鈥檚 homes, but she believes that people who use the app 鈥渢end to be very good.鈥�
Louie added: 鈥淚t鈥檚 a bit of work for you, because you do have to keep the place tidier.鈥�
Latest available numbers showing seniors' incomes stagnant compared to rest of population (viewing this on an app? )
Graphics by Nick Kirmse
Note: This article has been corrected to reflect average monthly Canada Pension Plan payment at age 65.
