Hong Kong’s Airbnbs started to go vacant as protests intensified

I analyzed Airbnb listing data to show how Hong Kong’s pro-democracy protests were devastating the city’s tourism economy.

I charted declining occupancy rates and falling nightly prices across neighborhoods, revealing that areas near protest hotspots like Central, Wan Chai, and Tsim Sha Tsui saw the steepest drops.

Some hosts resorted to adding “non-protest area” to their listings to attract wary travelers.