Airbnb: Airbnb releases Wisconsin university economic impact report

Contact: Ben Breit, Airbnb Midwest Public Affairs
847-274-5456
benjamin.breit@airbnb.com

Airbnb today released data indicating the meaningful economic impact of home sharing during major college commencement ceremonies throughout Wisconsin.

For graduation weekends throughout the state, local Airbnb host communities in Madison, Milwaukee, Green Bay, Oshkosh, Eau Claire and Whitewater expanded lodging capacity and offered affordable rates for visiting families and loved ones. With hotels often selling out due to the influx of college parents, commencement ceremonies have long been known as sources of an unfortunate degree of price gouging, which the rise of home sharing has helped alleviate.

With the commencements for Marquette and the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee converging on the same day, May 21 represented the largest influx of guests to Milwaukee in the history of the Airbnb platform.

“Home sharing provides significant economic value by expanding lodging capacity during commencement weekends for Wisconsin communities that are home to large universities,” said Laura Spanjian, Airbnb midwest policy director. “Most of us can relate to having to book hotels 1-2 years in advance of college graduations. We’re very encouraged to see how our platform has been utilized to provide affordable lodging accommodations for college families during stretches when hotels traditionally reach peak occupancy.”

The data can be found in full below.

University of Wisconsin-Madison
Commencement Dates: May 12-13
Total Airbnb Guests: 648
Percentage Spike from Previous Week in Guest Arrivals: 62%
Total Airbnb Host Income During: $124,000
Active Airbnb Hosts: 360
Percentage of Airbnb Listings that are Extra, Unused Rooms in a Home: 51%

Marquette University (Milwaukee) — *this coincided with University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee commencement
Commencement Dates: May 21
Total Airbnb Guests: 775
Percentage Spike from Previous Week in Guest Arrivals: 54%
Total Airbnb Host Income: $151,000
Active Airbnb Hosts: 350
Percentage of Airbnb Listings that are Extra, Unused Rooms in a Home: 38%

University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee — *this coincided with Marquette University commencement
Commencement Dates: May 21
Total Airbnb Guests: 775
Percentage Spike from Previous Week in Guest Arrivals: 54%
Total Airbnb Host Income: $151,000
Active Airbnb Hosts: 350
Percentage of Airbnb Listings that are Extra, Unused Rooms in a Home: 38%

University of Wisconsin-Green Bay
Commencement Dates: May 13
Total Airbnb Guests: 44
Percentage Spike from Previous Week in Guest Arrivals: 0%
Total Airbnb Host Income: $14,000
Active Airbnb Hosts: 120
Percentage of Airbnb Listings that are Extra, Unused Rooms in a Home: 40%

University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh
Commencement Dates: May 12
Total Airbnb Guests: 17
Percentage Spike from Previous Week in Guest Arrivals: 466%
Total Airbnb Host Income: $5,000
Active Airbnb Hosts: 120
Percentage of Airbnb Listings that are Extra, Unused Rooms in a Home: 21%

University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire
Commencement Dates: May 20
Total Airbnb Guests: 53
Percentage Spike from Previous Week in Guest Arrivals: 130%
Total Airbnb Host Income: $16,000
Active Airbnb Hosts: 26
Percentage of Airbnb Listings that are Extra, Unused Rooms in a Home: 56%

University of Wisconsin-Whitewater
Commencement Dates: May 13
Total Airbnb Guests: 15
Percentage Spike from Previous Week in Guest Arrivals: 1,400%
Total Airbnb Host Income: $1,000
Active Airbnb Hosts: 5
Percentage of Airbnb Listings that are Extra, Unused Rooms in a Home: 40%