US: Ahead of the Atlanta Super Bowl LIII on Sunday, short-term rental hosts in the city are gearing up for a surge of visitors from across the world.
With many Atlanta hotels booked solid, Airbnb hosts in the metro area plan to welcome an estimated 9,200 guests from 59 countries and 49 states.
Who will be listing for short-term rental over the Atlanta Super Bowl weekend?
According to reports, 23 per cent of the Atlanta hosts will be listing on the Airbnb platform for the first time. The typical host stands to earn about $690 for the time period between 27 January and 3 February.
Real estate investor Rich Munroe from Georgia owns seven properties and manages five properties in midtown Atlanta, and he said that was where he plans to hosts guests.
Munroe told Forbes: “I also do rehabbing of properties, fix and flip. I use the short-term rental business of Airbnb as a residual income to help with my future retirement.”
The average price per room per night of a booked Airbnb in the city will be about $170 over the Atlanta Super Bowl weekend compared with the typical average price of about $80, representing a reflection of supply versus demand.
Munroe said, “I think everybody is coming to terms with lowering their Airbnb prices essentially down to something that is more realistic.”
Who is playing in this year’s Super Bowl?
The game will see the New England Patriots and Los Angeles Rams face off against each other for American Football’s biggest prize.
Munroe was predicting a profitable time for Airbnb hosts over the Atlanta Super Bowl weekend.
He said: “The one-bedrooms are going to be two or three times the regular rate, which is going to be around $200 or $300 a night.
“Four-bedroom houses that typically would fetch $300 a night most likely will be more than $1,500 a night for Super Bowl weekend. There are fewer properties available that sleep more than four people, and so as a result of that, pricing on those is going to be a little bit higher,” he added.
Meanwhile, travellers can also seek less costly housing options by heading to nearby cities such as Kennesaw, Lawrenceville, Conyers and Stone Mountain.
From recommending cheap restaurants to shopping outlets, Airbnb hosts can provide guests with an opportunity to immerse themselves in local cultures.
Why is Airbnb being used at the time of big events?
Since launching in 2008, Airbnb has become a popular accommodation option for travellers heading to big events around the world, including the Olympics, music festivals and trade shows, as well as smaller events like graduations and college basketball tournaments.
More than 40 per cent of Airbnb guest spending is done in neighbourhoods in which a guest stays, the company says, driving up visitor spending in neighbourhoods that do not traditionally benefit from tourism.
In October, tourists flocked to Albuquerque, New Mexico, for the city’s hot air balloon festival. At that time, Airbnb hosts welcomed a record 7,600 guests, mostly from Denver, Albuquerque, Dallas, Houston and El Paso, Texas, earning a total of $1.25 million in the process.
