What's Hot: Barnes and Noble Will Return to Georgetown in June | The 3,000 Units On The Boards From Trinidad to Gallaudet
287,000 Guests: Airbnb's Impact on DC in 2016
An Airbnb rental near 14th and U Street NW.
As Airbnb becomes an increasingly mainstream part of the traveling experience worldwide, it has also become a larger part of the DC tourist experience.
A new Airbnb study reports that over 287,000 Airbnb guests visited the District during 2016 — nearly 80 percent more than the 160,000 Airbnb guests in 2015.
DC’s Airbnb hosts earned nearly $59 million on the service, including $1.3 million for hosts east of the Anacostia. Overall, the study calculates that Airbnb created over $209 million in economic activity in the city last year, a 72 percent increase over 2015. The flaw in this study, however, is that it doesn’t account for the commercial activity in the city that just moved from hotels, for example, to Airbnb rentals, an important point to consider when looking at the economic findings.
story continues below
loading...story continues above
The top five cities of origin for visitors who use Airbnb were New York, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Boston and Chicago. Airbnb reports that these guests spent nearly $160 million at retail shops and restaurants in the city. A large portion of that money went toward small businesses outside of the city’s typical hotel districts or tourist core.
Money spent by Airbnb guests by Ward
After a record-breaking inauguration weekend last month, Airbnb’s 2017 numbers could be higher than those quoted in the report; however, with new regulations for the service under consideration, there is also the potential for this growth to slow down.
From a methodology standpoint, the Airbnb study measures economic activity by multiplying the average daily spending of Airbnb guests in DC ($146) by the total number of guest nights, then adding total host earnings.
This article originally published at https://dc.urbanturf.com/articles/blog/airbnbs_economic_impact_on_dc_in_2016/12147.
Most Popular... This Week • Last 30 Days • Ever
The application could be a sign that plans to redevelop a pair of former church prope... read »
Rossdhu Gate is the remaining piece of a 30-room castle built by socialite Daisy Calh... read »
As profits drop around the country, sellers around DC are still realizing hefty retur... read »
A Home Equity Line of Credit, commonly referred to as HELOC, is a borrowing product t... read »
The Gen Z market; ranking food halls around DC; and is this the new king of Queens?... read »
DC Real Estate Guides
Short guides to navigating the DC-area real estate market
We've collected all our helpful guides for buying, selling and renting in and around Washington, DC in one place. Start browsing below!
First-Timer Primers
Intro guides for first-time home buyers
Unique Spaces
Awesome and unusual real estate from across the DC Metro