Report: Memphis Airbnb hosts score big in May

The combination of the Beale Street Music Festival and spring commencement exercises at the University of Memphis and Rhodes College the weekend of May 5-6 was a major boom for Airbnb hosts in the city, according to figures released by the online lodging provider.

The city’s roughly 500 Airbnb hosts provided lodging for 2,650 guests that weekend, representing the largest influx of guests hosted by Airbnb in Memphis during a specific time period since the service began operating here about 2010.

It was a 44 percent spike from guest arrivals the previous weekend at Airbnb’s local host homes, and generated $306,000 in income for hosts, according to the Airbnb stats.

“We see this from time to time, where you have a commencement at a big school coinciding with large events,” said Airbnb spokesman Benjamin Breit. “There are only so many hotel rooms, so this expanded lodging capacity can be valuable.”

Kevin Kane, president and CEO of the Memphis Convention and Visitors Bureau, reported that most downtown hotels were sold out that weekend. Kane said May is traditionally the strongest month for hotel occupancy.

Commencements were also kind to Airbnb hosts in other Tennessee cities during May.

Airbnb reported that Knoxville hosts provided lodging for 1,460 guests during the University of Tennessee commencement weekend of May 10-12, generating $127,000 in income for hosts.

In Murfreesboro, Clarksville and Cookeville, university commencements were eclipsed only by the eclipse. The August 2017 total solar eclipse brought droves of visitors to those areas, but spring graduations at Middle Tennessee State University (Murfreesboro), Austin Peay University (Clarksville) and Tennessee Technological University (Cookeville) followed closely behind.

Johnson City also did well, seeing a 158 percent spike from the previous weekend during the May 5-6 commencement weekend for East Tennessee State University.

“Most of us can relate to having to book hotels 1-2 years in advance of college graduations,” said Laura Spanjian, Airbnb’s policy director. “We’re very encouraged to see our platform utilized to provide affordable lodging accommodations for college families and support Tennessee’s middle-class host community.”

Nowhere, though, did the commencement weekend surge pay off more than in Memphis, thanks to the Music Festival in addition to commencements.

Bennie Nelson West has been an Airbnb host since 2014, and she was among those reaping the benefits of the big weekend. A family in town for the Rhodes commencement rented West’s 3,400-square-foot, four-bedroom home in the Beltline neighborhood off Central.

West lives in the home but moves out when she has guests. She said she’s never had any trouble finding renters through Airbnb, and has met a wide variety of people in doing so.

“I’ve met people from all over the world,” said West, who is currently in Atlanta. “It’s been wonderful. I’ve had a group of women in for a girls weekend, weddings, bachelor parties, Elvis events. I had one woman traveling alone on a Blues trip. She started in New Orleans and stopped in Memphis on her way to Chicago.”

Hosts set their own rates according to the market. So, yes, West said she charges more during May.

A breakdown of how Tennessee Airbnb cities have fared during May:

❚ Memphis: 2,650 guests the weekend of May 5-6, $306,000 in host income, 44 percent increase from previous week.

❚ Knoxville: 1,460 guests the weekend of May 10-12, $127,000 in host income, 52 percent increase from previous week.

❚ Murfreesboro: 250 guests weekend of May 5-6, $20,000 in host income, 47 percent increase from previous week.

❚ Johnson City: 160 guests weekend of May 5-6, $12,000 in host income, 158 percent increase from previous week.

❚ Clarksville: 120 guests May 4, $7,000 in host income, 20 percent increase from previous week.

❚ Cookeville: 80 guests weekend of May 5-6, $6,000 in host income, 70 percent increase from previous week.