Analysis

1.) What neighborhoods in Los Angeles have the most listings and why?

The visualization below displays the number of Airbnb listings in each neighborhood, the neighborhood with the most listings is Hollywood, followed by Venice, Long Beach, Santa Monica, and Downtown. As we explore the reasoning behind the popularity of Airbnb in these specific areas, we look towards an article written by Max Belasco, which explains that despite Airbnb’s claim that their business model allows working families to afford their homes in an increasingly competitive and pricey market, the majority of Airbnb’s revenue within the county has been for entire home rentals that appear to be hotel-ized (Belasco 2021).

This is consistent with our visualization on the right, which shows that most Airbnbs in Los Angeles are entire homes or apartments. Belasco’s observation that most of Airbnb’s revenue comes from “hotel-ized” listings shows that Airbnb is a market competitor in the hotel industry, meaning that similar to hotels, there are more listings in areas that are tourism heavy. This would explain why areas like Hollywood, a major tourist attraction, have significantly more listings than other, more residential neighborhoods. Additionally, in an article titled “Analyzing and Predicting the Spatial Penetration of Airbnb in U.S. Cities,” the authors concluded that Airbnbs tend to populate a creative sector closer to the city center of each city regardless of population composition, size, or wealth (Quattrone et. al 2018).

Sure enough, the neighborhoods in Los Angeles with the highest number of Airbnb listings, such as Hollywood and Venice, are thriving cultural areas of the city. Overall, from our analysis of the Airbnb data and research, the neighborhoods in Los Angeles with the most Airbnb listings are those that have a high number of tourists and those that are considered creative sectors of the city.

The map of Airbnb listings shows that Hollywood contains the most number of listings, closely followed by other big-name neighborhoods such as Venice, Long Beach, and more. This is in-line with the findings in “Analyzing and Predicting the Spatial Penetration of Airbnb in U.S. Cities,” which claims that Airbnbs tend to populate among the more creative sectors of cities. Hollywood is arguably the most creative sector of LA, and even the country, as the entertainment industry hub of the nation. Thus, listings tending to populate in these areas as expected.

Conclusion

Through our data analysis, we reaffirm our prior statement that Airbnb listings in popular Los Angeles neighborhoods contribute to major shifts in the socioeconomic characteristics of these neighborhoods.

According to data sourced from the US Census Bureau, the most populated neighborhoods in Los Angeles include (in chronological order) South Los Angeles, Southeast Los Angeles, Hollywood, Van Nuys, and Koreatown. When we observed the Los Angeles neighborhoods with the most Airbnb listings, we found that the ratio of Airbnbs in each neighborhood often did not correspond with the overall population of their respective neighborhood. The neighborhoods with the most Airbnb listings include the very popular and more tourist-prone areas such as Hollywood, Venice, Long Beach, and Santa Monica. The frequency of listings gives insight into where tourists are more attracted to stay, as people typically rent AirBnbs when on vacation or while visiting areas where they do not reside.

Therefore, the neighborhoods with the most Airbnb listings in Los Angeles reflect those that are the most popular with tourists. This shows direct evidence of the Los Angeles tourism industry, which has been proven to impact communities in areas by distorting the housing market, reducing the affordable housing supply, and encouraging harmful gentrification that removes local individuals from spaces in which they belong.

Analyzing the density and price of Airbnb listings in each neighborhood can further confirm these findings, as being able to pinpoint high-density areas opens doors for further research into how a high volume of tourists affects these specific neighborhoods while higher prices give insight into which tourist destinations are most desirable.

While a high volume of tourists could contribute to more commercial activities and a thriving tourist-based economy, consequences such as more opportunities for crime or violent activities leave room for exploration. Further studies would give more insight into how digital peer-to-peer tourism companies like Airbnb directly influence neighborhood trends such as economic status, overall population, and gentrification over time.

1.) What neighborhoods in Los Angeles have the most listings and why?

2.) Is there a relationship between Airbnb density and the socioeconomic status of local communities? How does Airbnb affect socioeconomic changes in those neighborhoods?

3.) How does the Airbnb price vary across different neighborhood groups in Los Angeles and how is Airbnb price compared to the local hotel price?

Conclusion