AirBnb Hosts Welcomed Nearly 13K Guests For Formula 1 — 42% Increase From Last Year

AUSTIN, TX — Officials at Airbnb, the world's leading community-driven hospitality company, said Wednesday its local hosts welcomed nearly 13,000 guest arrivals in Austin during the Formula 1 races last weekend — a 42 percent increase over the same event last year.

The positive results illustrate the growing popularity of the lodging option, seen as a more accommodating (and often cheaper) lodging alternative than hotels. According to Airbnb booking data, the average nightly price for a room was $137 per night — a favorable statistic given a Quartz Media report two years ago placing the average daily rate for a local Airbnb lodging site at $182.44.

The average rate for an Airbnb locale also compares favorably to the average stay at an Austin hotel, according to a more recent study. Earlier this week, HotelsCombined released its own study assessing average hotel rates during Formula 1 — an average of $251 per night for a hotel room compared to $190 on typical weekend.

Related story: Austin Hotel Industry Revved Up Profits During Formula 1 Event

"Airbnb has a long history of helping cities accommodate guests for big events like music festivals, sporting events, conferences and graduation ceremonies," company officials said.

Officials noted that Airbnb visitors tend to stay longer and spend more money in the neighborhoods where they stay compared to visitors who stay in hotels: "So this revenue can be very significant for the local Austin community. Thirty-one percent of the people who travel on Airbnb say they would have stayed home or would not have stayed as long but for Airbnb."

Because Airbnb hosts keep 97 percent of what they charge, the money stays in Austin rather than bolstering the bottom line of a hotel chain, Laura Spanjian, Airbnb Public Policy Director for the Southwest., noted.

Airbnb officials describe their business model as one that is "democratizing capitalism" by expanding the economic pie for Austin residents, allowing them to use their home – typically representing their greatest expense – to generate supplemental income to pay for costs such as household bills or to save for their own vacations.

About Airbnb (provided text):

Founded in 2008, Airbnb’s mission is to create a world where people can belong when they travel by being connected to local cultures and having unique travel experiences. Today, Airbnb is the world’s leading community-driven hospitality company, with over 4 million listings in 65,000 cities and more than 191 countries across the globe.

>>> Image via Shutterstock