Alabama farmers who host overnight guests through Airbnb typically earned $5,695 last year, and a new grant program is offering up to $10,000 apiece to get more of them into the business.
Airbnb and American Farmland Trust, a national nonprofit founded in 1980 to keep farmland in production, announced the Farm to Stay Grant Program last month. The first of two free online workshops for farmers is Wednesday at 4 p.m. Central. Applications open November 30 and close December 4.
Airbnb’s Alabama data shows typical farm stay host earnings in the state are up 379% since 2018. The company also found that 61% of Alabama census tracts have Airbnb listings and no hotels.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture reported that the median American farm household lost $1,830 on farming in 2024.
“A ‘Farm to Stay’ Grant can be what helps keep a family on their land through a bad season,” said Jordi Torres Mallol, Airbnb’s regional director for the Americas. “Sharing a room in the farmhouse can offset increased costs and bring tourism dollars to communities that visitors have traditionally overlooked.”
Ashley Brucker manages grantmaking for the Brighter Future Fund, the American Farmland Trust program that will hand out the money.
“Through the ‘Farm to Stay’ Grant, we’ll give agricultural communities a critical foothold in a growing sector that can help bring stability and predictability to an industry facing serious headwinds,” Brucker said.
Farm tourism already has an audience in Alabama. The Alabama Mountain Lakes Tourist Association launched the North Alabama Agriculture Adventures Trail in 2022 with 35 farms, orchards, wineries and other stops.
American Farmland Trust will award $250,000 in all, in grants of $5,000 to $10,000, to roughly 25 to 30 farms and ranches nationwide. The money can pay to start a new agritourism operation, renovate a property for overnight stays, or add farm experiences such as tours, workshops and farm-to-table dinners.
The program is open to working, for-profit farms and ranches that produce more than $1,000 in profit. The trust will accept about 350 applications and review them in the order they arrive. Full eligibility rules are due on the program page by mid-November.
A second workshop is set for Friday, November 13 at 11 a.m. Central. Farmers can register for either session through American Farmland Trust.
