It really pays to be an Airbnb host in the Hill Country hot spot of Fredericksburg.
Data released by Airbnb shows that among rural Texas counties, Airbnb hosts in Gillespie County — anchored in Fredericksburg — brought in $40 million last year. This was by far the largest total Airbnb revenue for any rural county in Texas. In fact, Gillespie County accounted for just over a third of the roughly $115 million earned in 2021 by rural Airbnb hosts in the Lone Star State.
The Fredericksburg area is home to hundreds of short-term rental properties. One order Tighter short-term rental regulations in Fredericksburg went into effect April 1. The crackdown on these rental properties has divided local residents, with some landlords opposing new regulations and some residents complaining about the disruption caused by short-term tenants.
Short-term rentals (STR) “are needed in Fredericksburg,” Aaron Beeman, 2022 president of the Central Hill Country Board of Realtors, Told Texas real estate agent magazine before the ordinance is passed. “We have the wineries and the weddings and all these industries that require accommodation. If you start removing STRs, that changes everything.
In 2021, Gillespie County racked up $241.1 million in direct travel spending, up 84.3% from 2020 and 88.2% from 2019, according to the Fredericksburg Convention and Visitor Bureau. .
The bureau says tourism in Fredericksburg has benefited from the rise of work-from-anywhere agreements.
“During the pandemic, visitors from across the country and the state of Texas have been encouraged [by the bureau] work from Fredericksburg and experience the city’s great restaurants, attractions and outdoor adventures,” the office said in a report.
Airbnb hosts in 20 other rural counties earned $1 million last year:
- Brewster, $8 million
- Burnet, $6 million
- Llano, $6 million
- Henderson, $5 million
- Kerr, $4.5 million
- White, $3 million
- Uvalde, $3 million
- Fayette, $2 million
- Washington, $2 million
- Calhoun, $1.5 million
- Matagorda, $1.5 million
- Palo Pinto, $1.5 million
- Polk, $1.5 million
- Wood, $1.5 million
- Angelina, $1 million
- Wood, $1 million
- Real, $1 million
- San Jacinto, $1 million
- Val-Vert, $1 million
- Van Zandt, $1 million
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