Maine gets $5.3 million as its cut of 284,500 Airbnb guest stays

Online lodging service Airbnb counted 4,500 host properties in Maine and 284,500 guest stays in 2017.

But the largest number released by the vacation rental giant on Tuesday: $5.3 million paid in state sales tax in the past year.

Airbnb reached an agreement with Maine on April 1, 2017, to start collecting lodging taxes on stays. Traditional hotels and inns had complained that Airbnb’s lack of tax created an uneven playing field in Maine.

“We were proud to have reached our tax agreement with Maine last year, and are now glad to see our partnership generating such a significant and vital revenue stream for the state,” Josh Meltzer, head of Northeast public policy for Airbnb, said in a news release. “We hope this will serve as yet another clear example of the economic potential of home sharing around the world.”

Other stats released by the company Tuesday:

• The average Maine host made $6,900 a year by opening their home roughly two days a month.

• 67 percent of Maine hosts are women, 33 percent seniors.

• The number of people opening their properties on the website was up almost 22 percent from 2016 to 2017, from 3,700 to 4,500.

• The number of visitors was up more than 63 percent, from 174,000 to 284,000.

Alpine goats walk past the Woods House at Ten Apple Farm in Gray. The farm owners have been renting out the house for more than two years via sites such as Airbnb. The owners invite guests to milk goats and hike with the animals. (Submitted photo)

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