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In fact, a spokesman tells us, 87 percent of St. Louis Airbnb reviews are five stars. One reason for the high ratings? Our senior citizens.
Says spokesman Benjamin Breit, "They are by far the fastest growing demographic of hosts in the city — we saw 115 percent year-over-year growth in senior hosts in STL, with the next fastest growing demographic being at 74 percent growth. And seniors get 90 percent 5-star reviews, higher than any other demographic in STL."
Yay, Grandma!
Here are the ten most hospitable cities in the nation, according to Airbnb users:
1. Asheville, North Carolina
2. Portland, Oregon
3. St. Louis, Missouri
4. Nashville, Tennessee
5. Phoenix, Arizona
6. Denver, Colorado
7. Austin, Texas
8. Charleston, South Carolina
9. Dallas, Texas
10. San Antonio, Texas
The city of St. Louis is by far the biggest Airbnb market in Missouri. It alone notched 88,500 guest arrivals via the room-sharing site last year, earning local hosts $9.14 million in income.
But while the state of Missouri recently inked a deal with Airbnb in which the company remits taxes back to it, the city hasn't done so yet (and that's even though Airbnb is basically begging it to do so). St. Charles County is one of the few jurisdictions in the state collecting its hotel tax via the site.
Some city aldermen have expressed concern that Airbnb hosts have an unfair advantage over hotels, suggesting it's not as simple as simply collecting taxes.
"What I want to see is some simple regulation to make sure there’s a process in place to get these properties registered, a system in place for neighbors to complain about problems and a way for the city to respond quickly,” Alderman Jack Coatar told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch in March. Neighbors complaining? Hasn't he heard we've got the hosts with the most?
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