© 2024 88.9 KETR
Public Radio for Northeast Texas
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Airbnb Renters Going Rural in Texas

The number of people staying at Airbnbs in rural Texas has jumped more than 90 percent over the last year. That's according to a new report from the short-term rental company. In Northeast Texas, that jump is much higher. 

Wood and Van Zandt Counties saw nearly 6,000 combined guest arrivals between August 2017 and last month. Combined, that’s about an average 150 percent uptick, and those guests are staying with 50 registered hosts in each county.

In far West Texas, Presidio and Brewster Counties saw nearly 30,000 guests over the past year.

Ben Breit of Airbnb says the two counties “aren’t just the top performers for the technically rural counties. They’re two of the most popular counties for Airbnb guests throughout Texas, period.”

Together the two counties brought in more than 3 million dollars in the last year.

But while the money might be god for hosts, Some critics say the high number of short-term rentals in towns like Marfa have contributed to the lack of available housing there.