The day Donald Trump is sworn in as president of the United States will be a “yuge” one for local homesharing.
In an updated report on the 2017 Inauguration out today, Airbnb says that on Jan. 20 more than 13,000 people are expected to stay in listings in the D.C. area available through its website—making it “the biggest night ever” in the metropolitan region for the San Francisco-based company. That figure is ten times larger than the number of visitors who used the homesharing service during the 2013 Inauguration, per Airbnb, which launched in the District in 2009. The company adds that between Jan. 19 and Jan. 21, more than 15,000 people are set to stay in area rooms booked on its platform, an 800 percent increase in the amount of reservations since Election Day.
Whether Airbnb guests are coming to welcome or protest the new president isn’t clear from the report. Airbnb says the top cities of origin for Inauguration-weekend visitors are New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Chicago, all Democratic bastions. Besides, if the number of bus reservations at parking lots surrounding RFK Memorial Stadium for next weekend is any indication, it appears that more people are visiting for the Women’s March on Washington on Jan. 21 than for Trump’s Inauguration itself: Roughly 1,200 versus 200, respectively.
Touting the benefits of its business to D.C., Maryland, and Virginia, Airbnb says it projects “over $10 million in economic impact” to the region next weekend, including approximately $6 million garnered by hosts and $4.7 million spent by guests. Airbnb began a local advertising campaign in 2016 after reports of racial discrimination plagued the company nationally. The company says it supports “sensible rules” governing homesharing in D.C.
The median rate for an Airbnb booking during Inauguration weekend is $129 a night, per the company, though some local listings on the platform are going for well above that. The most popular neighborhoods in terms of Inauguration reservations include Capitol Hill, Columbia Heights, the H Street NE corridor, Shaw, and Adams Morgan.
The company says about a quarter of its listings booked for Inauguration Day were placed by first-time hosts:
