Following a surge in demand for domestic travel during the pandemic, Airbnb says rural getaways and farm stays are more popular than ever. Rose Dykins Reporting
Airbnb has shared information about how the rise in domestic travel led to 8,100 cities and towns around the world attracting their first guests, including 1,300 in the United States.
Additionally, the rental platform reported that in 2021, domestic room nights booked on Airbnb by U.S. guests for stays in rural areas increased 110% compared to 2019. This translated into revenues of over US$3.5 billion for Airbnb hosts in rural counties. course of last year.
Airbnb says this healthy revenue suggests there is a strong opportunity for new Airbnb hosts in rural areas – and that the average time to get a first booking for the majority of new listings is currently around a week.
The company also revealed the approximate revenue for Airbnb host revenue by state in 2021 – Colorado coming out on top with US$363 million.
Airbnb says that alongside the rapid growth of rural travel during the pandemic, farm stays have become its fourth-largest category on its site, with 100,000 listings.
Nights booked in farm stays doubled in the first quarter of 2022 compared to the same period in 2019. This has led American farmers to increasingly turn to Airbnb to earn additional income, while providing experiences unique and rewarding to their guests.
Over 7,000 Airbnb farm stays were booked in the US in 2021, a 40% increase from 2019, and the typical US farm stay host gained on average $10,300 in 2021.
An Airbnb host – named Nancy – was signed up on the rental platform in 2016 by one of her daughters, after she had no idea what to do with her family’s farm guesthouse in Plain City, Ohio. His listing is located on a 13-acre property with horses, goats, chickens and ducks.
Six years later, Nancy has made more than 800 stays, says Airbnb, she has seen an increase in the desire for new experiences from her guests during the pandemic. “People crave connection – both on a human level and with nature, and I think our farm provides that kind of therapeutic journey that people have been craving for the past two years,” she says.
Nancy says she reinvests the extra income she earns from hosting on Airbnb back into the farm, and it has helped her with needed repairs, animal feed and ongoing maintenance as well as a additional income.
Airbnb recently introduced Airbnb Categories to help users discover new homes and places they never knew existed in places they may not have heard of before, helping to spread tourism outside of the typical destinations.
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