Women seen driving Airbnb’s growth in PH

WOMEN IN TRAVEL INDUSTRY From left to right: Airbnb senior communications manager for Southeast Asia Cheryl Tay, Philippine Commission on Women Gender and Development representative Anne Jeaneth Casalme, Quezon City Mayor Maria Josefina “Joy” Belmonte, Airbnb head of public policy for Southeast Asia, India, Hong Kong, and Taiwan Mich Goh, Philippine Coast Guard officer and renowned mountaineer Noelle Wenceslao, Airbnb host and content creator Colleen Vidal during Airbnb’s #WomenInTravel industry dialogue in Taguig City.

More women are seen driving the growth of US-based home sharing platform Airbnb in the Philippines, continuing the growing trend in recent years of greater female participation in this segment of the hospitality industry.

On Tuesday, Airbnb said two-thirds of its hosts in the Philippines in 2022 were women, making the Southeast Asian country the second-largest women-driven host community in the world after New Zealand.

“Women hosts are playing an increasingly pivotal role in the travel and tourism sector, and especially in the Philippines. We are heartened to see more and more women open their homes to travelers and provide the authentic hospitality that Filipinos are renowned for,” said Mich Goh, Airbnb’s head of public policy for Southeast Asia, India, Hong Kong and Taiwan.

“As more Pinays step up to lead our host communities and share hosting tips with one another, we remain committed to supporting and growing our Pinay host community and ensuring that their roles in contributing to the industry are recognized,” she added.

Airbnb said that Filipina hosts in their platform collectively earned more than P2.5 billion in 2022.

During Airbnb’s #WomenInTravel industry dialogue in Taguig City held on the same day, Goh also noted that these women come from diverse backgrounds and interest.

“Some are under 30 [years old] and helping their parents to welcome guest in the spare rooms. Others are mothers who are hosting to earn additional income,” Goh said.

Meanwhile, Airbnb senior communications manager for Southeast Asia Cheryl Tay told the Inquirer that this is generally a global trend, but is more pronounced in a country like the Philippines.

“It’s because we have a very strong base of women that’s kind of keeping the trend going,” Tay said on the sidelines of the event, noting that the Philippines is second only to New Zealand’s 70 percent.

“We see and hope that it would grow because we see a lot of very, very active women hosts,” she added.

Tay said that Airbnb is also optimistic about this year, saying that they have a “very positive” outlook for their business as the tourism industry continues to recover from the dire effects of the pandemic.

“We are very positive about the momentum of travel to the Philippines. And I would say that family travel is a very big growth trend, and surprisingly, pet travel,” said the Airbnb executive.

The Department of Tourism is looking to hit 4.8 million international visits this year after it breached the 1.7 million target it set for 2022 with 2.65 million international visitor arrivals.