Phoenix-area short-term rental prices surge for Super Bowl weekend

The state of Arizona is hosting its fourth-ever Super Bowl this weekend, and thousands of football fans are descending upon Phoenix for the festivities.

All those fans need a place to stay, and the Phoenix area’s short-term rental market is responding in kind — with eye-popping price surges, the Wall Street Journal reported. Fans of the Philadelphia Eagles and Kansas City Chiefs, most of whom already paid north of $9,000 just for a ticket to the game, also face short-term rental rates 60 percent higher than they were this time last year according to data from AirDNA.

Major sporting events often bring a short-term rental boom to the regions hosting them. The city of Los Angeles hosted last year’s Super Bowl at SoFi Stadium, bringing in $4 million in bookings to Airbnb hosts, a spokesperson for the service told the outlet. 

Short-term rental hosts take advantage of the high demand, upping prices for major events. Experts say that’s predictable, and so is the influx of short-term rental hosts into the market. With the opportunity to book a one-time, high-price rentals, many homeowners throw their hat in the short-term rental ring, Evolve Executive Vice President Eric Schueller told the Journal. Evolve is a Denver, Colorado-based vacation rental management company.

“The market swells with supply as many people that have not historically rented their homes see a quick-hit opportunity to capture large bookings during a high-demand event,” Schueller told the outlet. 

Available listings jumped 44 percent in the Phoenix and Scottsdale areas from October to December, according to AirDNA.

The short-term rental hosts who enter the market for busy weekends typically exit following the big event, Schueller told the outlet, “We do see some of that supply continue in the marketplace which does shift market behavior and pricing strategies post-event.”

— Kate Hinsche