Airbnb investment to boost tourism in the West Midlands

Airbnb has today launched The Airbnb Birmingham 2022 Legacy Pledge – a £500,000 investment to preserve, celebrate and showcase the cultural gems that make the West Midlands unique and put the region on the map for visitors from across the globe.

As the Official Hosting Provider for the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games, Airbnb has given families across the West Midlands the chance to welcome guests into their homes, boost their income and benefit financially from the Games – especially as the cost of living crisis continues to bite. The typical UK Host earned more than £6,000 on Airbnb last year*, around two months extra pay for the median UK household.** 

Today’s announcement builds on the financial opportunity that hosting has created for people across the West Midlands during the Games and creates a positive legacy to attract more visitors, create new earnings opportunities for families and preserve what makes communities across the region special for years to come.

The Games brought visitors to the West Midlands and created new earnings opportunities for families. By preserving and celebrating what makes the region unique, we can build a hosting legacy that will empower locals for years to come.

Boosting tourism in the West Midlands

Airbnb will invest £500,000 into creating community led tourism projects across the West Midlands, with a focus on heritage and sustainability, by: 

• Developing a West Midlands marketing and communications action plan to preserve, celebrate and showcase the cultural and hidden gems that make the region unique and put it on the map for visitors from across the globe.
• Launching a strategic demand driving campaign in partnership with Visit Birmingham to build upon Airbnb’s landmark agreement with the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games partnership and increase visitation to the area.
• Working with the local Host community to grow and invest in Host clubs in the region through events and Host training.
• Donating £30,000 as part of the pledge to complete the funding for the Ribbons’ Birmingham AIDS & HIV Memorial piece of art, aimed at remembering those lost, educating those living, and to celebrate those having healthier and longer lives while living with HIV.

Amanda Cupples, General Manager for Northern Europe at Airbnb, said : “The Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games showed to the world, and the rest of the UK, just how much Birmingham and the West Midlands has to offer – from sport, to food, and everything in between. At the same time, the Games unlocked new economic opportunities for local families battling a difficult cost of living crisis who were able to boost their income by hosting visitors from across the globe. As we look to the future, creating a lasting legacy will be as important as the Games itself, and we look forward to working with the West Midlands Growth Company to boost tourism in the region, and highlight the value of community led tourism as an integral part of the visitor economy.”   

Andy Street, the Mayor of the West Midlands, said: “I have always been clear that the Commonwealth Games would be about so much more than the sport – it has to be about the legacy we leave behind for generations to come. This is why I fought so hard for Birmingham and the wider West Midlands to win the Games in the first place, and why I’m so delighted to see Airbnb committing this substantial sum.

“Yes it is another vote of confidence from a major firm in our region, but more significantly this commitment will help preserve the cultural legacy of the Games  – something that is mission critical after the success of the last 11 days.”

The Airbnb Birmingham 2022 Legacy Pledge underscores the opportunity for destinations and economic benefits being delivered to communities all over the UK as a result of changing travel trends on Airbnb driven by the pandemic. 

Today’s announcement follows the launch of the Airbnb Healthy Tourism Commitment to promote the sustainable recovery of the tourism sector and to support the work of the Government’s Tourism Recovery Plan, and builds on Airbnb’s long lasting efforts to spotlight lesser visited destinations across the UK.