Airbnb/Facebook
About 106,000 people stayed in Shelby County Airbnbs last year, earning hosts here about $10.9 million, the company reported Tuesday.
The digital, home-sharing platform made a tax agreement with city leaders here in 2017. It was the first of its kind in Tennessee. This move paved the way for a tax-collection deal with cities across the state through the Tennessee Department of Revenue.
Airbnb hosts pay a 3.5 percent short-term room occupancy tax and a $2-per-night assessment. In its first year, the agreement here added $647,000 in tax revenues to Memphis tax coffers. From May 2016 to May 2017, 87,000 stayed in Memphis Airbnbs. Information on taxes collected during the 2017-2018 term of the agreement were not immediately available.
The new figures from Airbnb show that the typical host in Shelby County earned $8,400 last year in supplemental income from sharing their home through the platform.
Airbnb said Tuesday that data shows that the platform is playing well with the Tennessee hotel industry, rather than competing with it. The company said hotels continue to report strong growth, “even as local hosts welcomed tens of thousands of guests.”
“This suggests that Airbnb is opening up the state to a new slice of prospective tourists by catering to travelers less able to afford hotels, those who desire to stay in neighborhoods or cities that lack hotels, and families who prefer to be together under one roof,” the company said in a statement Tuesday.
