The Worst Might Be Over for Airbnb in Japan

Hi, this is Pavel in Tokyo. Airbnb took a major hit in Japan this June when the company was forced to freeze a broad swath of listings in response to new home-sharing regulations. While the business remains a shadow of its former self, hosts that survived the cull are doing better than ever.

There were a total of about 15,000 listings for entire homes for rent in July, a third of the number in March, according to hospitality analytics company AirDNA. As the number of tourists continues to climb, not surprisingly, hosts are able to charge more. The average daily rate of $152 is the highest ever in data going back to early 2015, the year when listings in the country more than quadrupled. A representative for Airbnb in Japan didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.