Airbnb has generated £3.46 billion for local residents in the UK

Airbnb has fast become the preferred way to travel for many tourists.

Whether you want to bed down in a converted church, a lofty treehouse or a chic warehouse apartment, the home sharing website has more than three million diverse listings that go far beyond the usual ‘twin room with a sea view’.

But while you might think that it’s only tourists and hosts that are benefiting from signing up to the service - which can often work out cheaper than staying in a hotel - it turns out that Airbnb is quietly playing a huge role in boosting local economies.

The company’s first UK Insights Report has revealed that the continuing growth of guests seeking out new and unusual destinations has generated an estimated £3.64 billion in economic activity for local communities across the UK.

Guests using Airbnb spend an average of £147 per day with almost half (43 per cent) of guest spending taking place in the neighbourhood where they are staying.

This means that visitors who choose stay outside of the usual hotel districts, and opt for a homestay instead, are helping to boost local businesses and spread tourism benefits to smaller communities.

More than three quarters of guests said they chose chose Airbnb because they wanted to “live like a local”, and the vast majority (86 per cent) said they chose a listing on Airbnb because of the specific amenities it offered.

The company now boasts three million short stays globally, with 64,000 active spare room and entire home listings in London alone.

And while you might think that bedding down in a Airbnb is just for trendy millennials, the report found that the average age of a host sits at 43 years, and senior hosts (over 65s) make up 22 per cent of hosts in regions such as the South West.

But it's not just the economy that is enjoying a boost. Opting for an Airbnb over a hotel has also been recognised as a greener and more sustainable way to travel.

A study launched earlier this year with Cleantech Group highlighted that by choosing Airbnb instead of hotels, guests in the UK contributed to energy savings equivalent to 75,000 homes and water reduction equivalent to 1,200 Olympic-size swimming pools.

They also reduced greenhouse gas emissions that were the equivalent to 217,000 cars and waste reduction of up to 10,800 tonnes.