Airbnb has been a boon this year for Indiana residents trying to earn some extra cash.
The company says Indiana hosts earned a combined $36 million in incremental revenue and hosted approximately 322,000 guests in 2018. Indiana hosts nearly doubled their profits from a year ago, when they had 175,000 guest arrivals.
The figure represents confirmed bookings made from Jan. 1 through Dec. 31, an Airbnb spokesperson told IndyStar. Users can book rooms or entire apartments and houses on the website.
Marion County, which includes Indianapolis, the state’s largest city, reaped the lion’s share of profits, earning $14 million and hosting 131,000 guests in 2018, according to data provided by Airbnb on Wednesday.
Other Indiana Counties
Several other Indiana counties also won millions. St. Joseph County came second on the company’s list, with residents bringing in $5.3 million and hosting 39,000 people. The county is home to the University of Notre Dame (South Bend).
The next county was Monroe, where hosts earned $3.1 million and hosted 28,000 people. It includes the city of Bloomington, home to Indiana University, one of the largest universities in the state.
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Hamilton County was also high on the list. The affluent county that includes Fishers and Carmel earned around $1 million and hosted 11,000 guests, the data showed.
In a press release, the company says Indiana residents are embracing the home-sharing platform as a way to supplement their income. The state now has more than 4,600 hosts, who typically earn about $4,800 a year in additional income, Airbnb said.
More accommodations during major events
Homes provided by Airbnb hosts have boosted the state’s lodging capacity, Airbnb said, during big events happening in cities like Bloomington, South Bend and Indianapolis, where hotels could sell out.
During this year’s Indianapolis 500, Airbnb officials announced that the host community planned to welcome 3,300 guests to the city – the largest influx of guests to Indianapolis in Airbnb history. Based on bookings, hosts were expected to earn a total of $400,000, the company announced in May.
Indianapolis has been touted as one of the trendiest cities in the United States. An Airbnb spokesperson told IndyStar on Wednesday that the city is still considered a fast-growing destination.
The revenue boost came the same year that home-sharing platforms like Airbnb received a legislative boost in Indiana. A law signed by Governor Eric Holcomb in March prevents municipalities from passing ordinances that would ban short-term rentals outright, but allow some regulations. The legislation states that homes can be rented for less than 30 days at a time “through a short-term rental platform”.
IndyStar reporter Justin Mack contributed to this report.
Call IndyStar reporter Crystal Hill at 317-444-6094. Follow her on Twitter: @crysnhill.
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