More than 340,000 visitors to Nevada opted to avoid hotels last year, booking their stays in private homes instead through AirBnb, an increase of 151 percent over 2015.
With a record 42.9 million visitors in 2016, it’s not surprising that Las Vegas residents hosted most of the tourists using the popular global home-sharing service?more than 250,000 of the total?and they earned more than $35 million in the process.
AirBnb estimates a typical Nevada host earns $6,600 annually. Residents statewide took in a combined $47 million last year.
While some observers express concern about the potential for the services to negatively impact hotel room rates, resorts on the Las Vegas Strip aren’t worried. Unincorporated Clark County, which includes the Strip, doesn’t allow them.
The city of Las Vegas, which does, collects an annual $500 permit fee from home-sharers and requires they purchase a business license.
Mehmet Erdem, an associate professor of hotel operations and technology at the University of Nevada Las Vegas, said convenience and prices are among the factors that draw visitors to short-term rental services such as AirBnb, VRBO, Homestay and Wimdu.
“For the people who come here for a bachelor’s party, they could book on AirBnb, but I would bet my money that they are going to stay at an integrated resort. But if I’m driving to Las Vegas for a soccer tournament and I try to make it a family vacation, I’ll probably check AirBnb.”
