[A]irbnb, the short-term rental platform, has found fertile ground in Vermont, a rural state that is attractive to visitors. When it comes to the 13 most rural U.S. states as defined by the U.S. Census, Vermont had the highest Airbnb earnings between January and May according to Airbnb.
In a report released Tuesday, Airbnb said Vermont hosts made $25 million between January and May with about 175,000 guest arrivals. Vermont and Maine tied in a list of the states with the most rural populations – defined by the U.S. Census Bureau as the areas that exist outside of urban clusters that have 2,500 residents or more. In the 2011-2015 Census, Airbnb said, 13 states were identified as having more than a 35 percent rural population. In Vermont, and Maine, 61 percent are described as living in rural areas.
In its report, Airbnb said Vermont Airbnb operators made $49 million in all of 2018 compared to $67 million in Maine. But in the first part of this year, host earnings in Maine were only $14 million, Airbnb said.
Airbnb is working hard to portray its platform as a way for homeowners to earn extra money. In its report, it said nearly 60% of Vermont hosts reported that the service helped them to afford to stay in their homes. It also describes the service as a much-needed boon to rural areas that aren’t large enough to support hotels.
Housing advocates say short-term rentals like Airbnb take former rental properties off the market, leaving middle-income workers who traditionally occupy those homes and apartments with nowhere to live.
The operators of traditional bed-and-breakfasts and hotels in Vermont have complained that short-term rental services like Airbnb and VRBO don’t face the same kind of regulation they do. The state Division of Tourism and Marketing has put out an RFP this summer for a study of the Vermont short-term rental market. The purpose of the study, which is intended to be released by the end of the year, is to help lawmakers determine if they can regulate short-term rentals to alleviate some of those problems, said Wendy Knight, the state’s commissioner of tourism and marketing.
