Airbnb is not necessarily an authority on what’s cool—but the people who use it might be. And based on the neighborhoods they’re flocking to, the home-rental site has come up with a list of the most up-and-coming districts in cities around the world.
The top three neighborhoods, ranked by the percent growth in stays during 2015 (and including only those with a base of at least 50 stays in 2014), are all in Asia. They’re led by Chūō-ku, an Osaka neighborhood that hosted 70 times as many Airbnb guests in 2015 than in 2014. Besides its shopping, food, and nightlife, Chūō-ku is known as the site of Osaka Castle, built by a 16th-century samurai.
Next on the list are Bangkok’s Banglampoo neighborhood and Brickfields in Kuala Lumpur, each of which hosted about 12 times as many Airbnb guests last year versus the year before.
In Dallas, there was more growth in Airbnb stays in Oak Lawn, the neighborhood that serves as the epicenter of gay culture in the city, than anywhere else in the continental US. (The only other American spots on the list were Kaneohe on the Hawaiian island of Oahu and the quickly gentrifying neighborhood of Poncey-Highland in Atlanta.) But travelers to a bustling metropolis sometimes prefer a slower, more traditional neighborhood, which explains the growing popularity of Roma Sur in Mexico City.
By breaking down rentals by neighborhoods instead of larger metropolitan areas, Airbnb shows how travelers are opting to stay outside of packed city centers. (Remember that summer when visitors descended upon the hip Marais neighborhood of Paris, temporarily outnumbering actual residents there?) According to the company, nearly three quarters of all Airbnb listings are outside of traditional downtown districts.
Here is Airbnb’s complete ranking:
- Chūō-ku in Osaka, Japan
- Banglampoo in Bangkok, Thailand
- Brickfields, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
- Capucins in Bordeaux, France
- Koukaki in Athens, Greece
- Triana in Seville, Spain
- Hammerbrook in Hamburg, Germany
- Kaneohe on Oahu, US
- Meireles in Fortaleza, Brazil
- Roma Sur in Mexico City, Mexico
- Oak Lawn in Dallas, US
- Poncey-Highland in Atlanta, GA
- District VII in Budapest, Hungary
- The Bukit Peninsula, Bali
- Richmond in Melbourne, Australia
- Constitución in Buenos Aires, Argentina