The move comes amid criticism that Airbnb rentals’ average prices have increased 36% since 2019, and that it has become too expensive to rent|Open Grid Scheduler / Grid Engine|CC0 1.0

Vacation rental giant Airbnb is tracing back to its wallet-friendly roots. It unveiled the “Rooms” option on Wednesday, dedicated to private room rentals—costing an average $67 per night.

What does it offer?
Under “Rooms”, holiday goers can see important privacy details about their single room rental, such as: if it has door locks, shared or separate bathrooms, housemates and shared public areas.

Previously, users could rent a single room depending on the host’s listing. The new option has more than 1 million rooms listed and around 80% of them cost less than $100 a night, says Airbnb.

Airbnb leans in
The move comes amid criticism that Airbnb rentals’ average prices have increased 36% since 2019, and that it has become too expensive.

The company still hit its most profitable year ever in 2022, bringing in $1.9 billion.

Co-founder Nate Blecharczyk acknowledged in a recent interview that “affordability is on people’s minds,” and that single-room rentals are “once again, highly relevant.” He expects 300 million guests to use Airbnb this year.

It may be possible with the ongoing travel boom in the country.