According to online home rental marketplace Airbnb, Mississippi families made $6.4 million by sharing their homes with tourists, college football fans and business travelers in 2017.
“Home sharing through Airbnb continues to be a unique and flexible way for Mississippi families to make more money, pay their bills and support their communities,” said Will Burns, public policy director for Airbnb in Mississippi. “We look forward to 2018 being another successful year of giving residents in Oxford, Starkville, Hattiesburg and all corners of the state an economic boost, travelers more affordable accommodations, and neighborhood businesses more foot traffic.”
In a press release, Airbnb noted :
- A total of 50,000 Airbnb guest arrivals occurred across the state.
- Approximately 1,300 Mississippi families hosted at least one Airbnb guest.
- The typical host shared their home 17 nights and earned $3,700 in additional income.
- Fifty-nine percent of Airbnb hosts in Mississippi are women.
Topping the list in the state was Oxford, with some 8,500 guest arrivals, leading to $1.5 million in income, followed by Gulfport (6,000 arrivals, $660,000 in income) and Biloxi (5,100 arrivals, $762,000 in income)
Here’s the rest of the top 15 with the number of guest arrivals and host income):
- Jackson (3,900, $422,000)
- Ocean Springs (3,100, $413,000)
- Natchez (2,900, $245,000)
- Bay St. Louis (2,300, $303,000)
- Starkville (2,000, $241,000)
- Pass Christian (1,700, $238,000)
- Southaven (1,300, $124,000)
- Vicksburg (1,100, $131,000)
- Waveland (1,000, $157,000)
- Hattiesburg (900, $97,000)
- Long Beach (880, $98,000)
- Clarksdale (800, $86,000)
