In 2023, Airbnb said guests traveled to more than 100,000 cities and towns around the world making it the most dispersed year of travel ever on the platform. In the US, nearly 600 cities and towns welcomed their first guest, demonstrating that travel on Airbnb continues to be a popular way for people to experience new places. Airbnb helps support travel that is good for Hosts, guests and communities that want to benefit from tourism:
- Hosts keep the vast majority of what they charge for their listing and help keep that money in their local communities.
- Listings are located in a wide range of neighborhoods including those that historically have not reaped the economic benefits from tourism.
- Guests can use Airbnb to find affordable accommodation options, often with more amenities than hotels offer, and stay in neighborhoods where their spending helps support local restaurants and small businesses
A newly released economic analysis estimates that travel on Airbnb generated more than $85 billion in economic impact across the US in 2023. In addition, for every $100 spent on an Airbnb stay, guests spent about $264 on other goods and services such as local businesses, restaurants, attractions, shops, and more. This economic activity helps to create an additional income stream for Hosts, fuel visitor spending in communities, support jobs across multiple industries, and contribute substantial tax revenue for local governments.
The report uses insights from IMPLAN Cloud, a software that combines data and analytics, to better understand how home sharing supports economic activity in communities across the US. The analysis looked at direct spending from Airbnb guests, as well as the indirect and induced effects from visitor spending in 2023. Below is a summary of the key findings.
Travel on Airbnb supported one million jobs
In 2023, 87 percent of Hosts in the US reported they recommend restaurants, shops and other local attractions located in the neighborhood of their listing to guests. By welcoming guests who then patronize local businesses, Hosts on Airbnb helped support approximately one million US jobs last year across multiple sectors, including restaurants, arts and entertainment, retail, and more. These jobs generated an estimated $50 billion in income for workers in key industries, and with many Airbnb listings located in areas without hotels, this income benefits people in communities outside traditional tourism hubs.
Guests on Airbnb generated $80B in local spending
In 2023, guests on Airbnb reported they spent an estimated $210 per day during their trip and approximately 40 percent of their spending was in the neighborhood of their listing. In total, guests who traveled on Airbnb generated more than $80 billion in visitor spending last year by supporting local small businesses, restaurants, transportation and other establishments.
Guest spending also generated more than $24 billion in taxes, including more than $2.2 billion in tourism related taxes collected and remitted by Airbnb on behalf of Hosts. Since 2014, Airbnb has worked with cities and towns around the world to help Hosts pay their fair share of tourism taxes and support a vital source of funding for local governments.
Hosts earned more than $24B in supplemental income
Across the U.S. Hosts rely on the income from home sharing to help make ends meet, save for retirement, or pay for improvements to their home. Last year, Hosts in the US earned more than $24 billion and the typical Host earned an estimated $14,000 by welcoming visitors to their community. According to internal Airbnb survey data, this supplemental income is a lifeline for many Hosts:
- 65% of US hosts say they plan to use earnings to cover the heightened cost of living
- 43% of US hosts say the income earned has helped them stay in their homes
- 11% of US Hosts say hosting on Airbnb helped them avoid eviction or foreclosure
