About Us

Airbnb got its start during the Great Recession as a way to help our founders pay their rent. More than 15 years since our founding, approximately 1 million people stay in Airbnb listings across the U.S. on any given night and 40% of hosts say hosting on Airbnb allows them to meet the rising cost of living.

Today, the typical host shares one home on Airbnb, helping to provide affordable accommodation options for guests, disperse travel to new destinations, and generate billions in local economic activity and tax revenue for communities. Airbnb helps support the kind of travel and tourism that is good for hosts, guests, and local communities:

Airbnb hosts keep the vast majority of what they charge for their listing, and unlike many big hotels, hosts help keep that money in their communities.
Airbnb listings are located in a wide range of neighborhoods, including neighborhoods that do not typically benefit from tourism.

When guests arrive at their listing, they often receive recommendations from their host for local businesses to visit, many of which are in the neighborhood where they stay. This type of hosted travel helps guests live like locals and has significant positive local economic impacts as guests spend time and money in local restaurants and businesses.

This report outlines the estimated economic impact of the Airbnb community in Michigan. Our hope is that this information will help policymakers better understand the benefits home sharing provides to local communities across the state.