Overview

This project conducts an exploratory analysis of Airbnb listing data from New York City, sourced from the open dataset available on Kaggle. The focus is on understanding the various factors that influence the pricing of Airbnb listings, with an aim to provide insights that could benefit hosts, guests, and policymakers engaged with the sharing economy.

Project Introduction

Airbnb has transformed the way people travel and experience new locations by providing unique lodging options that range from simple rooms to entire homes. Understanding what drives the pricing of these listings is crucial for stakeholders to make informed decisions. This analysis explores data spanning from 2008 to 2022, examining attributes such as geographical location, customer ratings, and other relevant factors.

Research Question

The primary question guiding this study is: “What factors significantly influence the price of an Airbnb house listing in New York City?” We hypothesize that variables such as location, ratings, and the type of accommodation play significant roles in shaping pricing strategies.

Significance of the Study

The findings from this study are intended to:

  • Help Airbnb hosts set competitive and fair prices for their accommodations.
  • Assist guests in finding the best possible lodging options within their budget.
  • Offer policymakers data-driven insights into the impact of short-term rentals on local housing markets and tourism.

Data

New York Airbnb Open Data

The original unprocessed data can be obtained here. The processed dataset comprises 68,428 observations. Key variables relevant to this study are summarized in the sections below. Discrete variables are analyzed for their frequency distribution, with percentages. Continuous variables are summarized using their median values and interquartile ranges in the format: Median (Lower Quartile, Upper Quartile).

Characteristic N = 68,4281
Host Verified
    unconfirmed 34,147 (50%)
    verified 34,281 (50%)
Minimum Nights Requirement
    1 20,116 (29%)
    2 20,316 (30%)
    3 13,459 (20%)
    4 5,408 (7.9%)
    5 4,753 (6.9%)
    6 1,216 (1.8%)
    7 2,846 (4.2%)
    8 195 (0.3%)
    9 119 (0.2%)
Boroughs
    Bronx 2,053 (3.0%)
    Brooklyn 29,161 (43%)
    Manhattan 26,943 (39%)
    Queens 9,528 (14%)
    Staten Island 743 (1.1%)
Instant Bookable
    FALSE 34,318 (50%)
    TRUE 34,110 (50%)
1 n (%)
Characteristic N = 68,4281
Ratings
    1 6,045 (8.8%)
    2 15,474 (23%)
    3 15,661 (23%)
    4 15,660 (23%)
    5 15,588 (23%)
Room Type
    Entire home/apt 34,514 (50%)
    Hotel room 97 (0.1%)
    Private room 32,397 (47%)
    Shared room 1,420 (2.1%)
Cancellation Policy
    flexible 22,805 (33%)
    moderate 22,845 (33%)
    strict 22,778 (33%)
Construction Year 2,012 (2,008, 2,018)
Listing Price 626 (341, 914)
Service Fee 125 (68, 183)
Total Number of Reviews 13 (4, 42)
Number of Days This Listing is Available 87 (3, 240)
Reviews per Month 0.98 (0.28, 2.33)
1 n (%); Median (IQR)

New York City 2020 Census Data

We complement our analysis with data from the New York City Census, obtained from the NYC Department of City Planning. This dataset provides insights into housing-related variables such as total population, total housing units, number of occupied housing units, and number of vacant housing units by neighbourhoods. The census data is processed and merged with the Airbnb dataset to enhance our understanding of the factors influencing Airbnb listing prices. The original unprocessed data can be obtained here.