One of my favorite podcasts used to be “Masters of Scale,” and the very first episode featured Brian Chesky, the founder of Airbnb. If you’ve never listened to this episode, stop what you’re doing and give it a listen. From that and a few other experiences, I have the impression that Chesky is something of a unicorn in Silicon Valley: grounded, truly mission-driven, comes from a great family. So when a friend of a friend started dating him and our mutual friend relayed this to me, I weighed in as if Chesky was a childhood friend and not just someone I’ve heard publicly speak a few times. “Oh, that’s so great, he’s such a good guy. Really close with his parents!” She seemed confused and I couldn’t explain myself. I stand by this statement and bring this up because it turns out I’ve been doing the same thing with Airbnb itself. Staying in someone’s home just feels more sustainable: fewer tiny shampoo bottles, more efficient use of existing space, making your own food, etc. But this was never really based in data, and when I actually dug into the research, the picture got considerably more complicated. 

Airbnb has been investing in its sustainability narrative for over a decade. Their most cited figures come from a study commissioned through The Cleantech Group, which found that North American Airbnb guests use 63% less energy than hotel guests. Guests in Europe saved the equivalent of 826,000 homes’ worth of energy in a single year, and in North America, they reduced GHG emissions equal to taking 354,000 cars off the road. 

When we look into the fine print, it’s actually even more impressive: In some cases, Airbnb compared themselves against hotels performing in the top 5th percentile of energy efficiency. They picked the most efficient hotels they could and still beat them. Still reason to be skeptical, though, Airbnb paid for this research themselves, and self-commissioned studies have an obvious incentive problem. Also, the study relied heavily on modeled and self-reported data rather than measured energy use. When an independent team ran the numbers, the results looked very different. 

A peer-reviewed study published in the Journal of Sustainable Tourism looked at the Sydney Airbnb market and calculated something much more sobering: On direct and indirect emissions alone, Airbnb generates 7.27 to 9.39 kg of CO2e per room per night. That’s roughly the same as an economy hotel. It gets thornier when you add what researchers call “induced emissions”: the carbon generated when Airbnb hosts spend their extra income on goods and services to improve their listings and their own lives. Factor that in across various scenarios, and the average carbon footprint for an Airbnb jumps to 44 to 46 kg CO2e per room, per night. Unfortunately, the sustainability edge Airbnb claims largely evaporates under independent scrutiny. 

The Rebound Effect: Why Cheaper Isn’t Greener: 

Airbnb’s lower price point may actually increase overall tourism emissions, not reduce them. Research on what economists call the rebound effect shows that travelers who save money by booking an Airbnb instead of a hotel tend to re-spend those savings at their destination, often on more activities, longer stays, or additional trips. The savings get cycled back into consumption and, in some scenarios, the re-spending exceeds the original cost savings, meaning the traveler’s overall footprint grows rather than shrinks. This isn’t unique to Airbnb. Efficiency gains that lower costs often lead to more consumption, not less. Fuel-efficient cars are a classic example. The car uses less gas per mile, so people drive more miles. 

Where Hotels Are Catching Up 

Hotels have a real structural advantage that often gets overlooked: accountability. Because they're large, centralized operations, they're subject to third-party verification through programs like LEED, Green Key, and EarthCheck in a way that individual Airbnb hosts simply aren't.

LEED-certified hotels demonstrate roughly 26% lower energy use and 30% lower water consumption compared to conventional buildings. Green Key has certified thousands of hotels worldwide and requires annual renewal with increasingly strict standards. Accor has rapidly expanded its eco-certified hotel count in a recent years. Marriott has committed to LEED certification or equivalent across hundreds of open or pipeline hotels.

The hotel industry has enormous room to improve, and many chains are still greenwashing aggressively. But the certifications that exist are third-party verified, publicly audited, and improving year over year. There is no equivalent infrastructure for Airbnb hosts.

We wrote about sustainable hotels a few months ago - check out our favorites here (LINK). 

Here’s Where Airbnb Wins 

There is a real sustainability case for sustainability, but it’s not the one they usually lead with. 

Because Airbnb listings exist in residential neighborhoods rather than tourist districts, they naturally distribute travelers across cities and towns rather than concentrating them. Research found that 72 to 93% of Airbnb listings are located outside areas at risk for overtourism. In San Diego, 75% of the city's census tracts have Airbnb listings but no hotels. Since the pandemic, more than 2,100 US cities and towns have received their first Airbnb booking.

Overtourism is a real environmental and social problem. When millions of visitors funnel through the same handful of neighborhoods, streets, and natural sites, the damage is significant and often irreversible. To the extent that Airbnb distributes that pressure more evenly, that's a meaningful contribution. Airbnb’s strongest sustainability argument isn’t carbon, it’s geography. Spreading tourism across more communities reduces the concentrated damage of overtourism, which matters. 

There's no clean answer, which is maybe the most honest thing I can tell you. Here's how to think about it depending on your trip: 

Traveling solo or as a couple to a major city? A Green Key or LEED-certified hotel will likely have a lower verified footprint than an average Airbnb. Look for the certification on Booking.com or the hotel's own site.

Traveling with a group or family? An entire-home Airbnb is typically more efficient per person than booking multiple hotel rooms, and you're cooking some meals rather than relying on room service.

Traveling somewhere off the beaten path? Airbnb may be your only option, and staying there supports a local host economy rather than a chain hotel that exports revenue.

Want to make either choice better? For hotels, ask about their certification. For Airbnb, look for listings with solar panels, recycling, or composting notes in the description. Some hosts are genuinely invested in this.

The Part Everyone Gets Wrong

The real sustainability question isn’t Airbnb vs. hotel it’s but how many people are sharing the space.

A couple booking a one-bedroom Airbnb vs. a standard hotel room: the footprint is likely pretty similar. All else equal, there’s no clear winner.

But shift the scenario slightly:
A family of five in a three-bedroom Airbnb vs. booking two or three separate hotel rooms—and suddenly Airbnb starts to look meaningfully more efficient on a per-person basis.

Airbnb didn’t necessarily make travel more sustainable, it made it more accessible. And accessibility almost always increases total consumption. Cheaper, more flexible stays mean more trips, longer stays, and more spending once you get there. From a social sustainability perspective, this is great! More people seeing more places! From an environmental standpoint, less great. 

Which leads to the slightly uncomfortable truth:
The most sustainable travel choice usually isn’t where you stay—it’s how often you go, how long you stay, and how many resources you use once you’re there.