Airbnb’s supersubs

• Airbnb’s partnership with Century 21 is a clever way for the sharing economy giant to access a huge new source of inventory within cities which have tried to suppress its growth through legislation.

In many cities where the cost of buying real estate is prohibitively high, renting is the norm for the majority of the population. Paris is a good case in point, with 60 per cent of Parisians renting their home.

These people have been unable to list their homes on Airbnb without the written permission of their landlord. The Century 21 deal – which provides income for tenant, landlord and agent – makes the subletting process more formal and streamlined and is likely to convince formerly reluctant landlords to allow subletting.

It’s a similar model – albeit with existing rather than new-build properties – to Airbnb’s deal with Florida developer Niido, and we can expect to see further deals with large property rental companies to follow in its wake.