More than 12,000 properties are now available after the site launched here five years ago, according to Inside Airbnb, which scrapes data from Airbnb's website.

The Melbourne properties are concentrated in the CBD and inner suburbs, are mostly entire homes rather than single or shared rooms, and the average price is $139 a night, according to Inside Airbnb.

But the soaring popularity is not without its teething issues. Victoria is set to follow cities including Paris, Berlin and Vancouver in tightening laws covering Airbnb.

The state government is grappling with how to track Airbnb use and address residents' complaints about crowded buildings, increased noise, and more wear and tear on communal areas such as lifts.

Airbnb in Australia does not file accounts with corporate regulator ASIC and the fees it generates from accommodation bookings in Australia flow to Airbnb Ireland, rather than Airbnb Australia.

A recent Victorian parliamentary committee - which recommended stricter rules on short-stay accommodation - found there was "inadequate and inconsistent data relating to the prevalence and locations of short???stay accommodation in Victoria".

The committee noted Airbnb had failed to provide data when requested.

Meanwhile, Mornington Peninsula Shire Council - home to popular coastal towns Sorrento, Rye and Dromana - is taking its own action: proposing controversial rules in response to resident complaints about parties.

The rules would require short-stay hosts to register with the council and would ban parties, excess cars and tents, and prevent guests from using outdoor areas or having friends visit between 10pm and 8am.

Mornington Shire Council Mayor Bryan Payne said on Wednesday the council had had 87 complaints about parties in the past 12 months.

Central Paris recently limited short-term rentals to 120 days a year for a main residence, Vancouver will require people to register as hosts, and last year Berlin banned tourists from renting entire apartments on short-stay sights.

Restrictions loom on short-stays in Victoria

State Labor went to the election promising to "curb inappropriate short stays".

Its policy is to enable state planning body VCAT to award compensation of up to $2000 to neighbours, and ban short stays in apartments that are repeatedly used for "unruly" parties.

It also proposes fining guests up to $1100 if they create unreasonable noise, cause a safety or health hazard, damage common property, or obstruct a resident from using the property.

But the recent parliamentary committee went further still.

It recommended charging short-stay hosts higher building fees for wear and tear inflicted by guests, and requiring people with multiple listings or guests for more than 90 days a year to register as a host.

Sixty-one per cent are offered by people with only one listing, leaving 39 per cent owned by people with at least two listings.

But Airbnb's head of public policy in Australia and New Zealand, Brent Thomas, said the Andrews government plan went far enough.

"[The plan] strikes the right balance between protecting people's rights to respectfully share their own home, while addressing any instances of anti-social behaviour," he said.

Housing affordability

Beyond complaining neighbours, there are questions about the extent to which short-stay sites encourage a new class of landlords in already expensive property markets.

Mr Thomas said in April that 84 per cent of Airbnb hosts listed just one dwelling, a typical host in Victoria earned about $5700 a year, and a typical listing in Victoria was occupied for 33 nights per year.

"We know that about 80 per cent of Airbnb hosts share the home they live in, whether that is a freestanding home or a townhouse or a unit," he told the parliamentary committee.

But Inside Airbnb's Mr Cox said "study after study has shown that listings and revenue are concentrated in the hands of a few hosts".

According to Inside Airbnb's data, the average monthly income for Melbourne's 12,000-plus listings is $922 a month.

People renting out their entire Melbourne home earned an average income of $1354 a month, while those renting it out frequently earned $2511 a month, Mr Cox said.

Of the nearly 7000 entire home listings, 42 per cent were from people who already had another listing.

He concluded: "This data is concerning because it shows that many entire homes are being taken off the residential rental and property markets, making it harder to find a place to live."