Michael McIntyre is one making a healthy profit thanks to the user-friendly accommodation-matching system, which boasts more than 600,000 property listings across 192 countries on its website.

The chauffeur driver said he had been able to fill his one-bedroom apartment in Civic for 25 nights each month, which at $160 per night raises a tidy $4000.

"We started 12-16 months ago, we were going to sell the apartment and thought we'd put it on airbnb and get some revenue as we waited to sell," Mr McIntyre said.

"Within a week we had the next month booked out."

Bookings are managed quickly on an app on his phone as he waits for his next driving job. Those looking to stay have to provide email, phone and identity details to Airbnb.

Homeowners - often offering a room in the house they live in - decide who to accept and a mutual post-stay feedback creates a self-regulating system.

Mr McIntyre said he believed his location was the key factor in his booking success as most of his tenants are from Sydney or Melbourne making work-related trips.

Airbnb adds a booking fee of about 10 per cent of the total price of the stay. Mr McIntyre said he spent $80-$100 on a cleaner before each new guest to the self-contained apartment.

Longer-term renters had previously paid $550-$650 a week; now the weekly income is about $800 plus.

Canberra has 134 listings, about one for every 2900 residents. On average, there's one Airbnb place on offer for every 1600 Melburnians. As Canberra has higher than national average hotel occupancy rates - often pushed to their limits during parliamentary sitting weeks - there is clearly room for growth.

Another northside operator said she earned about $1000 a month filling a spare room in her home three or four nights a week.