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Thanks To Airbnb, Kentucky Cashed In On Gig Economy In 2016

Screenshot of Airbnb

Looks like Kentucky is getting it’s share of the gig economy. 

When it comes to room-sharing, hosts in the Commonwealth earned $10.2 million in 2016 through Airbnb.

Louisville leads the pack in Kentucky when it comes to income generated by hosts. Back in August, the company released a report showing that Louisville hosts earned just above $4,000.

The River City's largest spike in Airbnb bookings, the company says, occurred on May 7, which coincided with the Kentucky Derby. It was the largest spike of any other city in the region, according to a news release. This fits with the national narrative that the gig economy is concentrated in larger, metropolitan areas.

Lexington and Bowling Green followed Louisville as far as total number of guest arrivals and host income. Below is an overview of 2016 guest arrivals and total host income, broken down by the top 10 home sharing cities in Kentucky:

Here's more 2016 Kentucky Airbnb numbers:

80,000: The number of guests that used Airbnb in the Commonwealth in 2016.

$6.2 million: The total host income for Louisvillians in 2016, the most out of Kentucky hosts.

43,000: The number of total guests in Louisville.

540: the total number of guests in Somerset, the least number of the 10 cities studied.

139: The percentage of year-over-year growth of Airbnb in the Commonwealth.

$1.8 million: Total host income for Lexington in the current year.

7: The day in May with the largest inbound visitor spike in Derby City.

Roxanne Scott covers education for WFPL News.