Airbnb generated 3.4bn turnover in 2015

(ANSA) - Rome, May 11 - Airbnb employed 98,400 people and generated turnover of 3.4 billion euros or 0.22% of GDP in Italy in 2015, the privately owned and operated web-based travel lodging company said Wednesday. The Italian market is the website's third-largest worldwide, with 3.6 million people choosing to stay with 82,900 Airbnb hosts in Italy - 20,000 of them in Milan and Rome alone.
    Italian hosts earned an average of 2,300 euros a year by sharing their homes for about 24 nights, according to a survey commissioned by Airbnb, Inc. and presented to Culture Minister Dario Franceschini in Rome.
    The survey showed most Airbnb hosts in Italy earn below the average per capita income of 22,000 euros a year, and that 87% have only one or two active listings and are long-time city residents - meaning that the online platform is a significant source of income for individuals as opposed to companies making a profit. Overall, Italy's Airbnb hosts generated revenue of 394 million euros last year, and their guests spent 2.13 million euros at local businesses.
    "The traditional hotel system and Airbnb can absolutely coexist," Franceschibni said. "Airbnb helps multiply attractive destinations and...allows tourists to experience a truly 'Italian-style' holiday, which is among the main reasons foreigners seek us out".
    Franceschini added the so-called tourist stay tax should be included in the price of the room and no longer be charged separately based on a hotel's number of stars - a system he called "outdated".
    "Making it a percentage of room price would make it fairer and also guarantee more transparency and equality across regions," the minister said.
    The study out today was the first carried out in Italy after similar surveys in London, Madrid, New York, and cities in France and Japan. Airbnb reportedly has over 1.5 million listings in 34,000 cities and 190 countries. It was founded in August 2008 and is headquartered in San Francisco, CA.