The relationship of Airbnb to neighborhood calls for service in three cities

Short-term rentals have grown rapidly in cities since the founding of Airbnb in 2008. As a result, many homeowners have voiced concerns about the impact of Airbnbs on the character of their neighborhoods and city councils have begun constraining their growth. Though there is a substantial literature exploring the connection between tourism and criminal activity, there is scant work on the relationship between Airbnbs, disorder, and crime. This paper takes up the issue using data on the growth of Airbnbs and calls for service to the police in Portland, Oregon, Nashville, Tennessee, and New Orleans, Louisiana. We find that Airbnbs tend to locate in areas with high calls for service and that an increase in Airbnbs in the previous month is correlated with a small increase in calls related to revelry and property crimes, and a decrease with respect to suspicious individuals.

Automated summary

The study found that Airbnb tends to locate in areas with high calls for service, and an increase in Airbnb in the previous month is correlated with a slight increase in calls related to revelry and property crimes, while calls related to suspicious individuals tend to decrease.