Source: Fortune
Summary
Women Airbnb hosts in the US, Mexico, and Canada are taking advantage of the 2026 FIFA World Cup to earn extra income by renting out their homes. According to Airbnb, women make up 53% of active hosts and 50.5% of bookings during the tournament. Many women are using the company’s payday initiative, which offers a $750 cash bump to new hosts who welcome their first guests before July 31, 2026. Hosts are estimated to earn a total of $212 million across the 16 host cities, with the average host earning $3,000.
Our Reading
The numbers tell one story. Women are cashing in on the World Cup, with many using Airbnb’s payday initiative to earn extra income. The company reports that women make up the majority of active hosts and bookings during the tournament. Women like Jennifer Smith and Nadia Giordani are seeing a significant increase in revenue, with Smith’s revenue increasing by 78% compared to last year. Giordani is enjoying a 40% rise in Airbnb revenue from hosting during the matches.
Women are also using the extra income to pad their travel fund, reinvest in their businesses, or save for the future. As Juan David Borrero, global head of partnerships and business development at Airbnb, notes, “The impact that it has with women has been really encouraging… For them to be able to think of how they can be creative with the management of the expenses of the household, hosting becomes a solution.”
It’s not just about the money; women are also finding a sense of empowerment and independence through hosting. As Nadia Giordani puts it, “Culturally, women tend to be the more host-like people… Taking that into consideration, women are definitely more independent than historically, and they have found an opportunity where we can be the nurturers that we tend to be naturally, on a platform that also allows us to monetize from being who we are.”
The World Cup has turned spare bedrooms and second homes into prime real estate, and women are capitalizing on this opportunity.
As one host put it, “The extra cushion of cash she’s getting from this year’s World Cup windfall is going straight back into her bank account.”
Author: Evan Null
