Residents of posh Paris island rake in cash on Airbnb

PARIS: Homeowners on the Ile Saint-Louis in central Paris, which has some of the city's most expensive real estate, are being kept in style by Airbnb rentals, a survey showed Thursday.

Conducted by a tourism industry association it showed that nearly two thirds -- 63 percent -- of the 214 buildings on the tiny island of film stars, scribes and sheikhs "have at least one Airbnb apartment or similar".

A total of 314 residential units, representing 17 percent of the island's stock, are available for rental on Airbnb or other home-sharing websites, the survey said.

Only about one-third of dwellings on the smaller of two islets in the Seine river, next to the Ile de la Cite where Notre-Dame Cathedral is situated, were inhabited by the owner.

The survey took place as Parisians express growing frustration with the never-ending stream of Airbnb tenants carting luggage up the stairs of their apartment buildings.

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