New Delhi, Aug. 25 -- For years, Airbnb offered Indian homeowners a tempting proposition: turn an empty house into a short-term rental and earn far more than the 2-4% yield typically available from conventional renting.

This made the platform a lucrative option for hosts, but as listings surged across the country, that premium is beginning to disappear.

Take the case of Chandigarh-based Harshdeep Kaur, who converted her home into an Airbnb in 2021, to fetch the 25% premium she had then estimated over renting. "There was a lot of growth in the first 1.5 years, but then the response weakened as more people came to know about it," she said, noting that properties in the Chandigarh Tri-city area have increased from just 300 in 2021 to over ...