How Hosts spread tourism across Michigan and support local businesses

Airbnb is today releasing new data showcasing how hosting empowers local residents across Michigan to earn extra income, provides affordable accommodation options for travelers, spreads tourism to rural parts of the state, and helps support local businesses. By the end of 2022, Hosts in Michigan collectively earned over $340 million, with the typical Host earning over $12,600 in supplemental income over the year¹. 

Since our founding, the Airbnb platform has helped cities use existing space to scale accommodations and absorb influxes of visitors, all while creating important economic opportunities for Hosts and local small businesses. This includes extending those opportunities to neighborhoods that are outside of traditional city centers and have not traditionally benefited from the tourism economy.

At Airbnb, we’re seeing firsthand how the spread of travel and tourism is helping rural communities. In 2022 Hosts in Grand Traverse alone collectively earned over $29 million, and nearly 6,000 Airbnb Hosts in rural counties across Michigan earned a total of approximately $150 million. In fact, almost 51% of surveyed Airbnb guests to Michigan would not have visited the neighborhood they stayed in if they did not book through Airbnb².

As travel continues to spread into new areas of Michigan, Airbnb is helping to keep the important economic impact created by stays on our platform in these very communities. 

Rural County	Approximate 2021 Host Earnings	Approximate 2022 Collective Host Earnings
Alcona	$500,000	$800,000
Alger	$4.5 million	Over $4.5 million
Allegan	$18 million	$19.5 million
Alpena	$900,000	$1 million
Antrim	$8 million	Over $9 million
Arenac	$200,000	$400,000
Baraga	$500,000	$800,000
Benzie	$6 million	$7.5 million
Branch	$500,000	$700,000
Charlevoix	$10 million	$11.5 million
Cheboygan	$3 million	Over $4 million
Chippewa	$1.5 million	Over $2 million
Clare	$800,000	$1 million
Crawford	$900,000	$1 million
Delta	$2 million	Over $2 million
Dickinson	$300,000	$400,000
Emmet	$7 million	Over $8 million
Gladwin	$700,000	$800,000
Gogebic	$2 million	Over $2.5 million
Grand Traverse	$24 million	Over $29 million
Gratiot	$50,000	N/A
Hillsdale	$400,000	$600,000
Houghton	$3 million	Over $4.5 million
Huron	$1 million	Over $2 million
Ionia	$250,000	$200,000
Iosco	$1.5 million	Over $2 million
Iron	$400,000	$500,000
Isabella	$200,000	$300,000
Kalkaska	$1.5 million	Over $2 million
Keweenaw	$1 million	Over $1.5 million
Lake	$1 million	Over $1.5 million
Leelanau	$13 million	Over $14.5 million
Lenawee	$900,000	Over $1 million
Luce	$500,000	$700,000
Mackinac	$2 million	Over $2.5 million
Manistee	$3 million	Over $4 million
Marquette	$5.5 million	Over $7 million
Mason	$2 million	Over $3 million
Mecosta	$900,000	$1 million
Menominee	$300,000	$400,000
Missaukee	$300,000	$400,000
Montmorency	$400,000	$500,000
Newaygo	$1.5 million	Over $1.5 million
Oceana	$3 million	Over $3.5 million
Ogemaw	$500,000	$500,000
Ontonagon	$700,000	$900,000
Osceola	$500,000	$700,000
Oscoda	$500,000	$500,000
Otsego	$2 million	Over $3 million
Presque Isle	$700,000	$800,000
Roscommon	$2.5 million	Over $3 million
Sanilac	$1.5 million	$2 million
Schoolcraft	$1 million	Over $1 million
Shiawassee	$170,000	$300,000
St. Joseph	$660,000	$1 million
Tuscola	$155,000	$300,000
Wexford	$1 million	Over $1 million

Beyond Host income, tourism taxes are key revenue-generating mechanisms for jurisdictions across the country. In recent years, these taxes have become even more important as cities and towns have looked to not only recover from the financial impact of the pandemic but also embrace the opportunity of a fundamental shift in travel that has brought guests to thousands more communities around the world. Last year, this led to the collection and remittance of over $20 million in tourism taxes in Michigan.