Airbnb, the world’s leading community-driven hospitality company, announced today that its host community earned a combined $44.8 million in supplemental income while welcoming approximately 112,000 guest arrivals to Maricopa County for the five biggest guest arrival weekends in 2019. Four of 2019’s most popular weekends took place during the month of March, when baseball fans and sunshine seekers head to the Grand Canyon State, according to Airbnb booking data.
“More Arizona families are embracing the economic opportunities of home-sharing, which brings an economic boost to small businesses and communities throughout the state,” said Laura Spanjian, Airbnb Senior Policy Director for the Southwest. “We are especially proud of the important role our hosts have played in adding additional lodging supply during Maricopa County’s top tourism weekends, while leveraging this demand to earn meaningful extra income.”
During the five biggest weekends of 2019, Airbnb hosts in Maricopa County, Arizona earned $44.8 million and welcomed 112,000 guest arrivals. These weekends included:
The home-sharing community provides significant value through expanded lodging capacity for Arizona communities when hotels sell out during big events. These include spring break, college football weekends, major conventions and concerts.
Along with helping hosts earn important supplemental income, Airbnb also helps generate revenue for local economies around the world. According to an Airbnb survey of more than 35,000 responses from our host and guest community in the United States**:
• 92 percent of Airbnb hosts say they recommend restaurants and cafes to guests.
• 56 percent of Airbnb hosts say they recommend cultural activities such as museums, festivals, and historical sites to guests.
• 55 percent of Airbnb hosts say hosting has helped them afford their homes.
• On average, Airbnb guests say 41 percent of their spending occurs in the neighborhood where they stay.
Unlike other business models that siphon the money they generate out of communities, Airbnb activity directly benefits the communities our hosts call home. Since Airbnb was founded, hosts keep 97 percent and have earned over $65 billion sharing their homes that many use to pay the bills and pursue their passions.
In addition, in 2019, Airbnb reached a landmark cumulative $2 billion in tourist-related taxes that have been collected and remitted to local governments on behalf of our global host community over the past four years. Airbnb has remitted $53.3 million in tax revenue in the State of Arizona since the company began collecting applicable taxes in 2017.
What follows is an overview of 2019 guest arrivals and total host income for the top 10 counties in Arizona:
