Airbnb owners who snapped up homes in the last several years during the era of 'free' money are facing a downturn in the short-term rental market that started in the second half of 2022, with some Airbnb operators in cities facing 50% revenue declines, according to a recent note published by Reventure Consulting CEO Nick Gerli. 

"I believe these losses will cause a wave of distressed selling from Airbnb operators in 2023 and 2024," Gerli said. 

Airbnb's CEO recently warned of a "booking slowdown," while airlines and retailers have warned of a consumer spending downturn. JPMorgan, Goldman, Bank of America, Barclays, and Citi have added more gloom as consumer credit card spending crashed in September. 

Clearly, the Fed pinning interest rates at two-decade highs is leading to major economic cracks as a recessionary slowdown in travel demand emerges and crimps revenue for highly leveraged Airbnb operators, which depend on revenue streams to pay their mortgage payments.