What people are searching for in Washington state vacations | Washington

(The Center Square) – The top three Airbnb destinations in Washington state are Seattle, Leavenworth, and Ocean Shores. The most desired amenities in the Evergreen State are a hot tub, sauna, and luxury bathroom.

So concludes Investment Property Exchange Services, Inc. – known as IPX1031 – after examining Google Trends in each state across the country. Google Trends is a website that analyzes the popularity of top search queries in Google Search across various regions and languages.

San Francisco, California-based Airbnb, Inc. operates an online marketplace for lodging, primarily homestays for vacation rentals, and tourism activities. The platform is accessible via website and mobile app.

“Washington’s top destinations for Airbnbs really reflects the diversity of the state,” explained Collin Czarnecki, study researcher on behalf of IPX1031, in an email to The Center Square. “On the one hand you have Washington’s tourist hub of Seattle drawing visitors looking for accommodations outside hotels in a bustling, urban center.”

He went on to say, “Then on the other hand, you have the mountain town of Leavenworth and the coastal setting of Ocean Shores showcasing the popularity of scenic destinations among Washington residents.”

Leavenworth is a Bavarian-styled village in the Cascade Mountains, in central Washington.

Ocean Shores in Gray’s Harbor County is a small coastal city known for its long sandy beaches surrounded by low dunes and a network of lakes and waterways.

“Given the dramatic scenery, mountain and water views of each of these Airbnb hotspots, it’s not surprising to see Washington residents want to indulge in spa-like amenities like hot tubs, saunas, and luxury bathrooms in their Airbnb rentals,” Czarnecki explained.

After enduring the lockdowns and travel restrictions related to COVID-19, IPX1031 contends Americans are catching the travel bug once again as the virus appears to be transitioning from pandemic to endemic.

“Demand for travel is once again on the rise following two years of pandemic staycations and road trips,” the IPX1310 study notes. “Many Americans are flying domestically and are planning their upcoming summer travel.”

That could mean more summer tax revenue for Washington. Since October 15, 2015, Airbnb has been collecting taxes on behalf of hosts who are renting out spare rooms, apartments, or vacation homes to visitors in the state and sending it to the state airbnb-collect-and-send-taxes-behalf-hosts”>Department of Revenue.

Airbnb’s economic impact on Washington state was evident in summer 2019 – prior to the pandemic – when hosts earned $132 million and drew more than 778,000 guests between that year’s Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day weekend.

Local governments in Washington have also been trying, unsuccessfully so far via the Legislature, to get in on the Airbnb action.

In 2021, Senate Bill 5012 didn’t move out of committee. The legislation would have allowed municipalities to levy an excise tax of up to 10% on short-term rentals and use the revenue for affordable housing programs.

The bill was reintroduced by resolution in 2022 and retained in its present status.