Based on my own experience of collecting leftover food from travelers checking out of vacation rentals (like in the 2023 photo above), it’s not surprising that an Ohio State University study shows that some $2 billion in food is wasted every year in short-term rentals in the US. Of course not all of this food can be donated, but I’m guessing that more than half of it can. Which means there should be a clear, systematic and publicized way to do this! According to the study, travelers want this information, so let’s give it to them!
According to survey results, researchers estimated that groceries, takeout and restaurant leftovers averaging $12 in value per night of short-term lodging remains uneaten. Though the analysis didn’t pinpoint how much remaining food landed in the trash, that was the most common outcome reported, along with taking food home or leaving it behind.
The findings suggested travelers would be open to information from rental hosts about composting options or places to donate uneaten food.
The study was published recently in the journal Waste Management. Data came from an online survey of 502 U.S. adults who had traveled in the past year reporting on their most recent trip using an Airbnb, VRBO or other short-term rental. Nearly all of the respondents were traveling for vacation.
Additional findings included:
- Travelers paid an average of $231 per night for lodging.
- Each child along for the trip was associated with a greater amount of uneaten food by the end of the stay.
- About 80% of travel groups eat at least one meal per day in a short-term rental, and 6.3% eat in for every meal.
- The $12 in wasted food per night consists of $7 in groceries and $5 in food prepared elsewhere.
- Produce and pantry staples top the list of vacation groceries most commonly unused.
- Almost half of respondents said they waste more food when they travel than they do at home, while almost 21% said their food waste at home exceeded travel food waste.
Spending on groceries alone at short-term rentals added up to an average of $34 per day – a tourism statistic not previously known, said lead author Brian Roe, professor in the Department of Agricultural, Environmental and Development Economics at Ohio State.
“There are lots of estimates of how much tourists impact local economies, but this, to my knowledge, is one of the first documentations of how much people spend per day in groceries while they’re in an Airbnb,” he said.
Results indicated 46% of hosts provided an opportunity for renters to recycle and over 20% provided instructions on what to do with uneaten food. About three-fourths of respondents said they would consider it somewhat or very helpful for hosts to offer information on how to donate unused food or compost leftover food.