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 2021, Hosts in Michigan collectively earned over $250 million, with the typical Host earning over $14,000 in supplemental income over the year. Furthermore, within the first three months of 2022, Hosts in Michigan brought in an additional $38 million, with the typical Host earning over $3,000. 

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 2021, domestic nights booked by US guests on Airbnb for stays in rural areas grew 110 percent compared to 2019, while Airbnb Hosts in rural counties in the US earned over $3.5 billion over the year. In 2021, Hosts in Grand Traverse alone collectively earned $24 million, and nearly 6,000 Airbnb Hosts in rural counties across Michigan earned a total of approximately $150 million. In fact, almost 40 percent of surveyed Airbnb guests to Michigan would not have visited the neighborhood they stayed in if they did not book through Airbnb.

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. Thirty cities and towns in Michigan received their first-ever Airbnb guests since the pandemic started. 

Rural County	Approximate 2021 Host Earnings
Alcona	$500,00
Alger	$4.5 million
Allegan	$18 million
Alpena	$900,00
Antrim	$8 million
Arenac	$200,00
Baraga	$500,00
Benzie	$6 million
Branch	$500,000
Charlevoix	$10 million
Cheboygan	$3 million
Chippewa	$1.5 million
Clare	$800,000
Crawford	$900,000
Delta	$2 million
Dickinson	$300,000
Emmet	$7 million
Gladwin	$700,000
Gogebic	$2 million
Grand Traverse	$24 million
Gratiot	$50,000
Hillsdale	$400,000
Houghton	$3 million
Huron	$1 million
Ionia	$250,000
Iosco	$1.5 million
Iron	$400,000
Isabella	$200,000
Kalkaska	$1.5 million
Keweenaw	$1 million
Lake	$1 million
Leelanau	$13 million
Lenawee	$900,000
Luce	$500,000
Mackinac	$2 million
Manistee	$3 million
Marquette	$5.5 million
Mason	$2 million2
Mecosta	$900,0005
Menominee	$300,000
Missaukee	$300,000
Montmorency	$400,000
Newaygo	$1.5 million
Oceana	$3 million
Ogemaw	$500,000
Ontonagon	$700,000
Osceola	$500,000
Oscoda	$500,000
Otsego	$2 million
Presque Isle	$700,000
Roscommon	$2.5 million
Sanilac	$1.5 million
Schoolcraft	$1 million
Shiawassee	$170,000
St. Joseph	$660,000
Tuscola	$155,000
Wexford	$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 $16 million in tourism taxes in Michigan.. 

The best illustration of how travel has transformed during the pandemic can be found in the many thousands of towns across the world that have welcomed their first Airbnb guests. Since March 2020, globally, more than 8,100 cities and towns have received their first-ever Airbnb bookings – including over 1,300 in the US.