The Twin Cities have seen significant growth on Airbnb over the last year or so. In 2016, according to the last public report from Airbnb, Minnesota had 93,000 guest arrivals (49,000 in Minneapolis) and the host community doubled in size to 2,600 people.
The 93,000 guest arrivals registers as a 132% increase over the previous year.
Now a big part of this growth was due to the Ryder Cup being hosted Chaska, but that certainly does not account for all of the growth (or even half of it). It is estimated that the Ryder Cup attracted about 250,000 people to the event and was responsible for about 3,000 of the Airbnb guest arrivals.
Now keep in mind that the 2018 Super Bowl will likely draw 2-3 times that amount of people into the Twin Cities.
However, if you have a home that you plan on renting in Minneapolis, you should temper your expectations. There are a few reasons for this:
- Airbnb has launched “Project 612” which intends on doubling the amount of hosts before the big event.
- In recent Super Bowl host cities, supply has dominated demand. At least You may see homes listed at outrageous prices, but the majority of those homes remain vacant throughout the event. Airbnb stated that the average nightly rate for the last Super Bowl in Houston was just $150 per night.
- Airbnb will take a fee of between 6 and 12 percent out of your earnings. They are also working with the City of Minneapolis on something that would allow them to pull taxes directly out of your earnings and send it to the city.
- Let’s face it — it’s going to be cold and who knows how many people will actually want to come 😉
A perfect scenario for Airbnb home renters (not necessarily Viking fans):
The Vikings or the Packers (just wait a second — I am about to explain this) make the Super Bowl.
If the Vikings were to make the Super Bowl:
- The Airbnb supply would be far lower than anticipated as many people simply wouldn’t be willing to give up their home on such an exciting weekend. This leaves the remaining hosts with the ability to charge higher rates due to lower supply with (potentially) the highest demand — people would flock to the cities from every corner of the state.
- Aside from being really excited for the Vikes, I would be full of excitement to see how the Airbnb market shakes out in this scenario
If the Packers made the Super Bowl (it hurts saying it):
- Everyone and their mothers would flock into the cities from our neighboring state to the east. Thus, demand would be sky-high (similar to what would have happened in Houston if Dallas would have made it through to the big game).
- Viking fans could charge outrageous rates to inflict pain on their rivals and then get the heck out of town to avoid having to witness such absurdity.
Just to be clear, I hope none of you list your homes. That way, I will be free and clear to list mine at $4k per night and make out like a bandit!
