Florida's Airbnb hosts earned $273 million, welcomed 1.5 million people in 2016

MIAMI, FL – Airbnb, the Sunshine State’s leading community driven hospitality company, announced today that its Florida host community earned a combined $273 million in supplemental income while welcoming approximately 1.5 million people to the state in 2016.

Additionally, the growth of home sharing in Florida has poured millions of dollars in new revenue into state and local governments. Airbnb also announced today that in 2016 it has collected and remitted well in excess of $20 million in state sales tax revenue and county-level Tourist Development Tax dollars. This includes significant new revenue for Pinellas County ($900,000), Orange County ($800,000), Brevard County ($500,000) and Lee County ($300,000) - the largest of the 31 Florida counties that have collaborated with Airbnb on voluntary collection agreements that allow the company the automatically collect and remit the tourist taxes on behalf of its hosts.

Governor Rick Scott said, “It is great news that Airbnb and the home sharing community are helping more families experience the Sunshine State. During challenging times in our state this year, Airbnb offered emergency accommodations to many families in need following the Orlando terrorist attack and Hurricane Matthew. We truly appreciate when businesses like Airbnb help Floridians in need.  We recently announced that Florida welcomed a record number of visitors during first nine months of 2016 and tourism plays a crucial role in supporting our economy. We will continue to work closely with our many tourism partners like Airbnb to bring record numbers of visitors to our state.”

The 1.5 million guest arrivals to Florida via Airbnb represent 114 percent year-over-year growth. This comes as Floridians increasingly embrace the home sharing platform as an opportunity to earn supplemental income and make ends meet. The Airbnb Florida host community grew 74 percent in 2016 to a total of 32,000 hosts, and the fastest growing demographic among Airbnb hosts are senior women. The typical Florida host only brings in guests three nights per month, so they are making valuable income even while hosting sparingly.

Airbnb Florida policy director Tom Martinelli said: “We are so proud that Airbnb has emerged as a powerful component of Florida’s thriving tourism industry. Home sharing is an economic driver to cities and neighborhoods in Florida that typically get overlooked due to the lack of hotels. Meanwhile, the infusion of new revenue to state and county coffers is helping local policymakers fund critical local services.”

The City of Miami has emerged as a leader within the global home sharing community. Airbnb guests have contributed $130 million in the past year to the Miami community, including $50 million alone at local restaurants. Neighborhoods like Little Haiti - where there are no hotels – have particularly benefitted from the infusion of tourism through home sharing. Additionally, Miami was one of 12 global launch cities for Airbnb’s new Experiences platform, which offer guests handcrafted activities designed and led by local Miami experts. Experiences - which was launched in November - offers unprecedented access and deep insights into South Florida communities and places that guests wouldn’t otherwise come across through traditional tourism platforms.

Miami’s Midtown neighborhood is also home to the Airbnb Florida headquarters, which is staffed with 15 people and counting. Midtown was recently featured as one of Airbnb’s global “neighborhoods to watch,” having experienced 430 percent growth in Airbnb guest arrivals over the past year.

What follows is a county by county breakdown of total supplemental income earned by Airbnb hosts in Florida (for counties with total income over $100,000):

AIRBNB FLORIDA 2017 PROACTIVE POLICY AGENDA

Airbnb Florida has proactively engaged all 67 counties in attempts to collaborate on agreements that allow the company to collect and remit Florida’s Tourist Development Taxes (TDT) on behalf of its host community. Since December 2016, Airbnb has successfully partnered with 31 counties, along with an agreement with the State Department of Revenue to collect and remit the state sales tax.

Airbnb Florida’s objective in 2017 is to complete deals with the remaining 36 counties to ensure that all of its Florida hosts can pay their fair share in tourist taxes.

What follows is an overview of the 31 county TDT agreements:

Tax Deal Took Effect on December 1, 2015:

• Pinellas ($900,000)
• Bradford
• Citrus
• Columbia
• Desoto
• Dixie
• Flagler
• Franklin
• Gadsden
• Gilchrist
• Glades
• Hamilton
• Hendry
• Holmes
• Jackson
• Jefferson
• Levy
• Madison
• Okeechobee
• Pasco
• Sumter
• Wakulla
• Washington

Tax Deal Took Effect on March 15, 2016:

• Lee ($300,000)
• Orange ($800,000)
• Brevard ($500,000)

Tax Deal Took Effect on May 1, 2016:

• Hernando

Tax Deal Took Effect on July 1, 2016:

• Putnam
• Taylor

Tax Deal Took Effect on September 1, 2016

• Indian River
• Santa Rosa

About Airbnb

Founded in 2008, Airbnb’s mission is to create a world where people can belong when they travel by being connected

to local cultures and having unique travel experiences. Its community marketplace provides access to millions of unique accommodations from apartments and villas to castles and treehouses in more than 34,000 cities and 191 countries.

Tags: Travel & Tourism