Air BnB a room for Football season?

Question

So I recently moved and now live within a 15 minute drive of the University of Iowa. I am contemplating posting the extra room in our basement on Air BnB for home football games. We would still be in the house upstairs has anyone done this? What type of rents did you charge? Any changes I should make to the house to accommodate this. The thought came to me while I was driving home from my W2 and just thought I could make some decent money this fall. So now let’s see what of this mud sticks to the wall! We aren’t within walking distance but would be willing to drive 4 or less to the game and pick them up.

Julie McCoy · Answer

What @Bill Goodland said.  And forget driving them to/from the game, they can Uber/Lyft!  Overall my thought is, if the setup is good for it, why not?  You can always try it for a couple of games and if you hate it, pull the listing.

Bill Goodland · Answer

@Lucas Gillmore I would look on Airbnb and do your own research as rental rates are very market specific and definitely vary a lot depending on the product and the market demand surrounding it such as high volume time like football games.

Try looking in your area and messaging a couple people on Airbnb and ask about their experiences. As far as additions, I would recommend getting an access code lock to avoid needing to give keys each time.

Julie McCoy · Answer

@Eric P. You have truly astonished me!  (and heck yeah I'd vacate my house for 6 weekends a year to pay my mortgage - I'm hoping to do it in mine, except I think I'd need to do it at least once a month!)  That's fascinating.  And I suppose I didn't respect fall as slow season for many areas, since in the Smokies where my properties are that's HIGH season.  I kinda dig your traveling nurses-except-for-football-season plan.  LOL

Right now I'm wishing Nashville had a decent football team of any variety... LOL

ETA: I do understand about football, I'm a season ticket holder at USC and plan to fly back for games this fall.  But up until now the games have really only been a Metro ride away, I haven't had to worry about breaking the bank to rent a place!

Eric P. · Answer

Ha! Most teams get 5 or 6 home FB games. But we’re talking about places with RABID fan bases and not nearly enough hotels to account for demand on these 5 or 6 weekends. Plus, of course, a house can be more fun than hotel when you’re in town with your alumni buddies to watch some ball. You can grill out after the game, etc

It was shocking to me too as I combed through the AirDNA data but the trends were unmistakeable - I kept seeing huge spikes in revenue in Sep, Oct, Nov in these college towns with big FB teams (it happens in Knoxville too, though perhaps illegally ;)

I went to investigate further & found that there are people who live in college towns who rent their entire place out ONLY for the 6 FB wknds & it seems to cover their mortgage for the entire year. (Yes they vacate their house for 6 wknds ea yr!)

Also keep in mind that Fall is slow season for many places (cities, beach towns, ski resorts) so many college towns are CRUSHING them in Airbnb revenue each fall.

Now, all this said, this pretty much only works if you happen to live full-time in a college town & you have an extra room (or are willing to vacate your house 6 wknds per yr). So it’s an opportunity that very few can take advantage of. I mean, I suppose the best way to leverage this opportunity for everyone else is to buy a place & put traveling nurses (from the University hospital) in there for 9 months/yr. And then get the big football money during fall season. Seems a bit challenging though & you’d have to get the timing just right.

Sample listing ($3900 for a FB wknd in a non-renovated 3-br house!): https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/14294240?location=State%20College%2C%20PA%2C%20United%20States&adults=8&check_in=2019-09-13&check_out=2019-09-15&guests=1&source_impression_id=p3_1559416759_goL%2B2pTfN5vAN7nT&s=nG69S5pr

Julie McCoy · Answer

This is honestly shocking to me because home football games on average occur once every two weeks.  A boost in local revenue?  Sure.  Most profitable for the whole fall season?  What?  (also, STRs are illegal in Knoxville, but they're welcome to stay at one of my places in Pigeon Forge!)

Eric P. · Answer

This is a GREAT idea! In my extensive research of best areas for Airbnb nationwide, I came across a trend I wasn’t expecting. Do you know what markets are the most profitable Airbnb markets every fall? Tuscaloosa, State College, Knoxville, South Bend, Ann Arbor, Columbus, etc. People are KILLING it by renting out rooms (or full homes) for home FB games. Go for it! You can probably charge a LOT!

Air BnB a room for Football season?

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