Airbnb guests pour millions into KC hosts’ pockets

Kansas Citians who took in Airbnb guests this year earned total host income of $4.1 million, according to data supplied by the company.

The metro area’s Airbnb income edged higher when the suburbs were included. Airbnb said hosts in Overland Park earned $307,000; Roeland Park, $67,000; Mission, $44,000; Olathe, $81,000; and Shawnee, $63,000, for example.

The online host-and-guest matching service said Kansas City alone had 38,000 guest arrivals recorded this year, second in Missouri to St. Louis, which had 41,000. Among Kansas cities, Lawrence had the highest Airbnb visitor total with 4,600.

The Airbnb hospitality service, founded in 2008, now exists in 34,000 cities and 191 countries. As of this fall, there were about 460 Kansas City-area Airbnb lodging opportunities.

The service said it doubled its host total in Missouri to 2,100 people this year. Forty-two percent of them rent out a single room in their homes.

Of special note: The fastest-growing demographic nationally among Airbnb hosts is senior women.

This story was originally published December 19, 2016 at 3:31 PM with the headline "Airbnb guests pour millions into KC hosts’ pockets."