Online hospitality service Airbnb, which recently opposed a legislative attempt to regulate Connecticut’s short-term rental industry, says its hosts in the state earned a record $27 million this summer.
Airbnb, an online marketplace that allows people to rent their homes or apartments, announced late Wednesday the latest haul for Connecticut hosts were generated through approximately 93,300 guest stays during a four-month period between Memorial Day weekend and Labor Day.
In total, the nearly 6,000 Airbnb hosts in Connecticut generated 30.4 percent more in revenue in the time frame compared to $20.7 million during the same period in 2018.
Airbnb says hosts in Middlesex County this summer recorded the most guests with 23,700 total visits. That generated $13.1 million for hosts during the period.
Trailing were New Haven (21,000 guest arrivals), New London (20,400), Fairfield (12,400), Hartford (6,900), Litchfield (6,500), Tolland and Windham (1,200) counties, according to Airbnb.
Most Airbnb guests in Connecticut this summer hailed from New York City, Boston, Philadelphia, New Haven and Hartford, respectively.
The high level of guest visits from New Haven and Hartford residents, Airbnb says, demonstrates the service’s local popularity for those exploring the state. In total, 617,200 Connecticut residents used Airbnb over the last year, it said.
“With more guest arrivals this summer than ever before, hosts and small businesses have been able to enjoy the opportunities created by an expanded tourism economy, while the state has benefited from additional tax revenue as a result of this growth,” said Josh Meltzer, Airbnb’s head of Northeast public policy.
In February, Meltzer opposed Connecticut’s first attempt to regulate the state’s short-term rental industry, arguing that House Bill 7177 would threaten profits for local hosts and small business owners running bed and breakfasts. The measure months later failed to draw a vote in the Appropriations Committee.
Lawmakers behind the bill say they are poised to pursue similar legislation — which mirrors a bill adopted in Massachusetts — in the 2020 legislative session.
Airbnb earlier this year said it’s delivered more than $5.2 million to the state of Connecticut in tax revenue since it began collecting the state’s 15-percent hotel tax in 2016. Updated tax revenue totals were not immediately available Wednesday.
In 2018, the state’s then 3,800 hosts earned $35 million in revenue from about 170,000 guests.
Airbnb hosts keep 97 percent of revenue generated by guest stays, which has earned them more than $65 billion since the company debuted in 2008.
