Florida Trend | Florida's Business Authority

Florida Airbnb Hosts Earned $450 Million, Welcomed 2.7 Million Guests in 2017

Airbnb Florida, the Sunshine State’s leading community-driven hospitality company, announced today that its Florida vacation rental hosts  earned a combined $450 million in supplemental income while welcoming approximately 2.7 million guests  to the state in 2017.

The 2.7 million guests to Florida represent 75% year-over-year growth. This comes as state residents increasingly embrace the vacation rental platform as an opportunity to earn income and expand their community’s lodging capacity. There are now nearly 40,000 Floridians who share their homes or vacation rentals through Airbnb, with each host typically earning about $6,700 annually.

“Vacation rentals provide a tremendous impact for the local tourism industry and Florida’s overall economy,” said Sen. Greg Steube (R-Sarasota). “We must protect private property rights so that Florida homeowners can continue to participate in the sharing economy and provide additional options for travelers to our state.”

Statewide data indicates that the vacation rental community is complementing -- rather than competing with -- the Florida hotel industry. Florida hotels experienced strong growth in occupancy rates, prices and revenue during 2017 -- in parallel with vacation rental growth for the year. This suggests that vacation rentals on Airbnb and other platforms are opening up the state to a new demographic of tourists by catering to travelers who are less able to afford hotels, those who desire to stay in neighborhoods or cities that lack hotels, and families who prefer to vacation together under one roof.

"We are proud to contribute to Florida's record-setting tourism by opening up the state to new segments of visitors," said Jennifer Frankenstein-Harris, President of the Florida Vacation Rental Management Association (FVRMA). "We are committed to partnering with the Governor and lawmakers to further infuse Florida's economy with additional revenue and elevate Florida's status as a global hub for family-friendly tourism.

In addition to the new personal income going into the pockets of Florida hosts, the vacation rental community is also generating new public revenues that benefit the state and dozens of local communities through  tax agreements that allow Airbnb to collect and remit taxes on behalf of its hosts. Airbnb is currently authorized to collect and pay the state sales tax on all bookings in Florida, in addition to collecting and paying  local bed taxes in 39 counties. In 2017 alone, Airbnb secured new tax agreements with six counties: Miami-Dade, Broward, Sarasota, Polk, Hillsborough and Leon. The company will release a 2017 county-by-county tax report once the December taxes are remitted.

Additionally, Airbnb Florida wishes to again thank the hundreds of Florida hosts who stepped up to offer their properties for free to Irma evacuees following the activation of Airbnb’s Disaster Response Program.

What follows is an overview of 2017 guest arrivals and total host income, broken down by the top 20 counties in Florida (in terms of guest arrivals). If your coverage area is not on this list please respond to Ben Breit with a data request and he’ll be happy to provide ASAP.

County Total 2017 Guest Arrivals Total 2017 Host Income

Miami-Dade

667,200

$134.6 million

Osceola

358,400

$39,.6 million

Broward

239,600

$45,.7 million

Orange

229,500

$25 million

Pinellas

140,200

$24.5 million

Polk

101,600

$10.5 million

Hillsborough

78,700

$10.4 million

Palm Beach

72,500

$17.1 million

Bay

69,300

$12 million

Sarasota

67,100

$13.3 million

Monroe

65,700

$13.6 million

Saint Johns County

64,800

$8.8 million

Lee

63,800

$13.2 million

Volusia

51,100

$7.5 million

Brevard

45,500

$6.5 million

Okaloosa

45,200

$8.5 million

Duval

42,600

$6.1 million

Walton

41,200

$8.5 million

Collier

35,400

$8.1 million

Escambia

31,700

$4.6 million


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 65,000 cities and 191 countries. With Experiences, Airbnb offers unprecedented access to local communities and interests, while Places lets people discover the hidden gems of a city as recommended by the people that live there. Airbnb is people powered and the easiest way to earn a little extra income from extra space in a home or from sharing passions, interests and cities.