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Airbnb Rich List: Study Reveals The Most Expensive Rentals In The World

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Since its launch in 2008, Airbnb has grown from an exemplar of the sharing economy to global ubiquity as host to some of the most outrageous properties on the planet. Where once it would offer simple spare rooms, reasonably priced, that gave us new ways to visit far flung locations, now there are just as many mansions, castles, treehouses and entire islands available offering truly unique, often eye-wateringly expensive, vacation experiences.

But how far does it go? To find out, travel currency expert S Money has scoured Airbnb to find the most expensive listings in every country across the world. The results are, as you might expect, spectacular, both in terms of the properties and the prices they charge.

Proving the popularity and value Airbnb sees in these high-end, high price listings, it has launched a Luxe line to showcase the best on its site. The house-share equivalent of a five-star hotel rating, each Luxe property is personally checked by Airbnb and must meet a list of 300 criteria to qualify. Seven of the ten most expensive properties in this list are Luxe properties.

The Most Expensive Airbnbs In The World

The study showed the most expensive Airbnb anywhere in the world is on a private island in the southern Bahamas – Musha Cay at Copperfield Bay. A snip at $60,000 a night, it is owned by none other than world famous illusionist David Copperfield who is clealry showing his skill in making his guests’ money disappear pretty quickly! The property description calls it “arguably the most luxurious private island in the world” where “all of life’s greatest pleasures are right at your fingertips,” which almost makes it sound like a bargain.

Second place takes us to the high mountains and the Alpine Estate in Bagnes near Verbier, Switzerland with a price tag of $49,819 a night. Spread over two villas that can accommodate 22 people, features include two indoor pools, multiple indoor and outdoor hot tubs, and a “double set” of Hammams, saunas and media rooms.

The wonderfully named Hidden Palace in the jungles of Ubud on Indonesia’s island of Bali is our third most expensive listing, costing $34,808 a night. Set in the heart of the Hanging Gardens of Bali, the villa’s name reflects its “spirit of royal luxury… and regal atmosphere” and promises amazing architecture that immerses you in the surroundings in complete luxury.

Fourth place takes us back to another private island, Tagomago off the coast of Ibiza, where Christiano Ronaldo has apparently been happy to pay up the $32,585 nightly bill. Fifth sees us back in the Caribbean and Barbados at the $28,157 a night Villa Cove Spring House in the Garden.

The most expensive Airbnbs by continent and country

North America’s third priciest but the most expensive U.S. property comes in sixth on the Airbnb price list at a cost of $27,399 a night. The Cobb Road Daydream estate in Water Mill, New York is a pristine nine bedroom mega mansion set amid the gorgeous Hamptons that has more than a touch of Succession family retreat about it.

South America’s top dog is Playa Vik in José Ignacio, Uruguay, an extraordinary modernist geometric beachside home with show-stopping, “gravity-defying” infinity pool that juts out into open air towards the ocean. A bargain at $16,250 a night. For something a little more affordable, Suriname’s most expensive listing is actually a room in an eight-room house in Meerzorg that does admittedly look wonderful with the “Suriname River as a front garden and Peperpot nature park as a backyard”. Yours for just $621 a night.

We already know Europe’s most expensive listing is the Swiss Alpine villas, beating out the private island villa off Ibiza’s coast. The most expensive listing in the U.K. is a six-bedroom Merseyside villa just three miles from Liverpool city center that promises a huge garden and “hotel-style extras” for $10,895 a night.

In the Middle East and Central Asia we look to Villa MK in Muğla, on Turkey’s stunning Turquoise Coast, a ten-bedroom seaside “haven of wellness, rejuvenation, excess and decadence” that comes with a $25,537 nightly bill.

Across the rest of Asia and Australasia, bypassing the Hidden Palace in Bali, Australia’s Crypto Castle is the region’s most expensive listing, despite being half the price of the Hidden Palace at “just’ $16,691 a night. Located in South Coogee, a little coastal town not far from Bondi, it’s owned by Bitcoin tycoon Fred Schebesta who justifies the property’s name simply enough: “Crypto built this house.”

Lastly to Africa, which has five countries with five-figure Airbnb listings across South Africa, Morocco, Egypt, Mauritius and Mozambique. The most expensive by far is in Cape Town in South Africa, the $17,504 Pengilly House which looks out over the Atlantic with views of Lion’s Head mountain where “Spaceship-like concrete and stone architecture gives way to warm, luxurious interiors with views that put you on top of the world.”

To find out more detail about this study and its methodology and sources, go to S Money.

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