RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK – If you were wondering just how well Airbnb is doing in North Carolina, the hospitality firm has data to say business is good. Very good.

Travelers attending graduation ceremonies at Triangle and other universities across North Carolina set records for visits and dollars spent for accommodations with private residents this month, Airbnb reported Wednesday, with several records being set.

Collectively, more than 4,000 guests spent more than $400,000 with Triangle hosts, Airbnb says.

“For every one of these communities with large universities, the college commencements represented the largest surges of guests to the respective cities in the history of Airbnb’s platform,” the company reports. “For Greenville, Chapel Hill and Durham in particular, the records were set overwhelmingly.”

A spokesperson for Airbnb says the previous records in Durham, Chapel Hill and Raleigh were set in 2018 commencements.

Both “Durham and Chapel Hill, this year’s totals were significantly higher than last year’s,” he noted.

Airbnb hosts in Greenville reported record dollars and visits that topped the previous high set last September during a weekend event.

The company notes that more “local homeowners in communities with large universities have substantially expanded lodging capacity for the cities through home sharing, allowing parents to affordably travel even once hotels reach full occupancy.”

“These local hosts and homeowners are really stepping up to expand lodging capacity and maximize the economic impact for their cities,” said Tom Martinelli, Airbnb policy director for North Carolina, in a statement. “When additional college parents are able to stay overnight even after hotels sell out, there’s a secondary economic impact for local restaurants and other small businesses who benefit from additional revenue.”

The firm also notes that it collects and remits state and local taxes as required through an agreement with the NC Department of Revenue.

Additionally, Airbnb collects and remits North Carolina state sales taxes as well as local city/county taxes on behalf of all hosts, thanks to a tax agreement with the North Carolina Department of Revenue. This means that this record activity also represented a surge in tax revenue as well.

Here’s a breakdown by city:

East Carolina University (Greenville)  

  • Commencement Dates: May 3
  • Total Guest Arrivals: 250 — by far the largest surge to Greenville in history of Airbnb’s platform
  • Total Host Income: $21,000

Appalachian State University (Boone)  

  • Commencement Dates: May 10-11
  • Total Guest Arrivals: 1,100 — largest surge to Boone in history of Airbnb’s platform
  • Total Host Income: $99,000

North Carolina State University (Raleigh)

  • Commencement Dates: May 10-11
  • Total Guest Arrivals: 1,600 — largest surge to Raleigh in history of Airbnb’s platform
  • Total Host Income: $98,000

North Carolina A&T + UNC Greensboro

  • Commencement Dates: UNC Greensboro was May 10, NC A&T was May 11
  • Total Guest Arrivals: 620 — largest surge to Greensboro in history of Airbnb’s platform
  • Total Host Income: $45,000

Duke University (Durham)  

  • Commencement Dates: May 10-12
  • Total Guest Arrivals: 1,900 — by far the largest surge to Durham in history of Airbnb’s platform
  • Total Host Income: $273,000

UNC-Chapel Hill

  • Commencement Dates: May 12
  • Total Guest Arrivals: 740 – by far the largest surge to Chapel Hill in history of Airbnb’s platform
  • Total Host Income: $65,000