Airbnb Stays Contribute $1.6 Billion to Regional Economy, Company, Report Finds

Guests staying at Airbnb rentals in the San Diego area contributed an estimated $1.6 billion to the regional economy in 2023, according to a report released Thursday by the short-term rental company.

The report claims 1.7 million guests contributed more than $34.7 million in local occupancy taxes to the city of San Diego. Airbnb also supports around 18,000 jobs and generated $453 million in other tax revenue, the report claims.

“This new analysis underscores how home sharing is an important economic engine for the San Diego region, allowing residents to supplement their income while supporting tourism and providing more affordable options for travelers,” said Andrew Kalloch, Airbnb director of global policy development. “It will help inform our work with local leaders to ensure we continue to support solutions that balance the benefits of home sharing with community needs.”

According to a 2023 survey of hosts in the San Diego metro area, 54% said the income earned through hosting has helped them stay in their home, while 12% said hosting helped them avoid foreclosure or eviction.

In 2022, San Diego began requiring licenses for short-term residential occupancies after passing an ordinance in 2021 and receiving approval by California Coastal Commission.

Its guidelines include a requirement for rental hosts to obtain a license and establishes a cap on the number of licenses granted for whole-home rentals operating more than 20 days per year.

The law came partly in response to San Diego’s housing crisis and caps short-term vacation rentals at 1% of the city’s housing supply, while prioritizing “good actors” in a lottery to determine who gets to offer properties for whole-home vacation rentals.

Airbnb’s report analyzes the housing market in the greater San Diego area, “where the chronic underproduction of housing is the leading cause of rising housing costs,” the authors wrote.

According to the company’s analysis, 296,000 housing units would have needed to be added in the San Diego metro area over the last five years to stabilize rent growth at the rate of inflation, but only 30,000 units were actually constructed over that time.

“By contrast, entire home listings on Airbnb booked for more than 90 nights a year represent 0.5% of the San Diego metropolitan area’s 1.2 million housing units,” the report reads. “Airbnb remains committed to partnering with San Diego leaders and pioneering innovative solutions to support responsible tourism.”

In 2020, Airbnb launched the City Portal to help cities better understand the Airbnb landscape in their communities and tools to help cities enforce their short-term rental laws. It was expanded to San Diego in 2023.

— City News Service