As COVID-19 travel restrictions have been lifted, people have moved on and they are particularly interested in traveling to rural communities like Humboldt County.
The number of people booking room nights with Airbnbs in rural areas increased 110% in 2021 compared to 2019, according to Airbnb data, resulting in rural hosts in the U.S. earning $3.5 billion. dollars. In California, rural hosts earned more than $205 million in 2021, and those in Humboldt County earned $17.5 million.
The typical rural California Airbnb host earned around $20,000 last year.
Farm stays have been particularly popular, with a 40% increase in bookings between 2019 and the fourth quarter of 2021. The typical farm stay host earned around $10,300 last year.
Humboldt County ranked No. 5 in county guest revenue in 2021 compared to other rural counties in the state. It came in after Mendocino ($22 million), Mariposa ($23 million), Nevada ($33 million), and Mono ($52 million) counties.
California was fourth overall in the country in terms of revenue from its rural hosts over the past year. Colorado ranked first with $364 million, followed by Tennessee ($249 million) and North Carolina ($224 million).
Cities like Arcata and Trinidad have talked about putting caps in place on short-term rentals like Airbnbs in the past to preserve local housing stock.
Housing in Humboldt County is becoming more expensive; only 30% of households could afford a median-priced home in the county in the first quarter of 2022.
In April, the county’s median home price rose 8% from the previous month and 9.2% from a year earlier, to $464,300.
Sonia Waraich can be reached at 707-441-0504.
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