RALEIGH – The number of guests staying at Airbnb hosts across North Carolina soared in 2018 with state and local taxes and fees paid hitting some $24 million, the hospitality firm reports.

And, citing figures from the state of North Carolina, Airbnb’s popularity came even as stays at traditional hotels and other facilities rose.

“We had over 60 percent year-over-year growth in 2018 in guests to North Carolina,” an Airbnb spokesperson tells WRAL TechWire.

Airbnb

While he said he didn’t have “exact tax numbers from years past,” taxes and fees paid “definitely” did “increase.”

More than $24 million in what Airbnb calls “home sharing tax revenue” was paid on behalf of Airbnb hosts, the company says.

The company also recently reported big jumps in business for its hosts during recent university graduation ceremonies across the state.

The news comes as the City of Raleigh on Tuesday launched a crackdown on Airbnb.

Airbnb, the world’s leading community driven hospitality company, announced today that it remitted over $24 million in home sharing tax revenue on behalf of its North Carolina hosts to the state in 2018.

WRAL.com reported Tuesday that Airbnb hosts in the Triangle earned $18 million and played host to 143,000 guests last year. The average host earns around $6,000.

On Tuesday, the Raleigh City Council approved an ordinance which would:

  • limit hosts to two adult guests at any time,
  • allow the rental of only two rooms in a home and
  • impose a $500 fine for violations of the limits

Airbnb has been collecting and remitting taxes and fees under an agreement reached with the NC Department of Revenue in 2015.

Airbnb: Triangle hosts set records for guests, income during graduations

“The $24 million in overall revenue is comprised of $9 million in state taxes and $15 million combined in city and county occupancy taxes,” the company says.

It also cited state data that Airbnb and hosts “appear to be complementing – rather than competing with – the North Carolina hotel industry.”

Here are highlights of data from a March report compiled by the state:

  • NC hotel/motel occupancy increased 5.6% statewide in March 2019 from March 2018 (two-year change, +5.3%).
  • March 2019 room rates (ADR) in North Carolina were up 2.8% (two-year change, +5.7%).
  • Statewide, RevPAR was up 8.6% from March of 2018 (two-year change, +11.4%).
  • Room Supply increased by 0.6% in the state from March 2018 to March 2019 (two-year change +3.1%).
  • Room Demand increased 6.2% in the state from March 2018 to March 2019 (two-year change +8.6%).
  • North Carolina room revenues increased 9.2% in March 2019 (two-year change +14.8%).

Noted Tom Martinelli, Airbnb regional policy director. “The parallel growth of the North Carolina hotel industry suggests that vacation rentals and home sharing are 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.”

Marriott vs. Airbnb? Hotel giant reportedly mulls home rental service