Airbnb listings by people aged 50 and above are on the rise, according to the home-sharing company’s regional director for the Americas.   

Aaron Zifkin told BNN in an interview that Airbnb is a good way for people who are unable to qualify for their first mortgage to earn a bit of extra money, which may help them eventually break into the homebuyers’ market. But he also said there’s been an uptick in the number of retirees using the service.

“We’re also seeing a huge surge with our 50-plus demographic –  people that are on fixed incomes or retirees that want to earn a little bit of extra money to either take that trip that they’ve wanted to or monetize their most expensive asset, which in a lot of cases are people’s homes,” Zifkin said.
There’s been efforts to regulate Airbnb in Canada’s hottest housing markets, the most recent being Toronto.  But Airbnb said in a report released Tuesday that its business is having no meaningful impact on rental markets in the city.

Zifkin said the company “really believe[s] in the right for people to be able to share their home on an occasional basis,” and said it’s even working with condo building owners to increase listings.

Airbnb is used in 34,000 cities and 191 countries around the world, according to the company’s website.