With hundreds of thousands of fans expected to descend on Kansas City for FIFA World Cup matches, hospitality and city leaders think the international sporting event could provide a chance for residents to become short-term rental hosts.
Resident Leicester Ellison is interested. He’s thinking about renting out his home about 10 minutes away from Arrowhead Stadium, where matches will be held.
“You can see the fireworks from my house,” Ellison said. “I really hadn't ever done this, and I would like to see if there's any money in it for me to be made.”
Ellison was among dozens of Kansas Citians who recently attended a two-day crash course on how to host a short-term rental on sites like Airbnb during the World Cup matches next summer. Local officials estimate 650,000 people will visit Kansas City for the event, and accommodations are at the top of their mind.
Analysts and experts in the hospitality industry, as well as city officials, think short-term rentals will provide a prime opportunity for residents to financially benefit from the tourism surge.
“It's really important that our residents are able to have a financial benefit from these huge events that we have in Kansas City,” said Melissa Patterson Hazley, a member of the Kansas City Council.
Chances to benefit from the World Cup
The Kansas City Short-Term Rental Alliance and Missouri Vacation Home Alliance hosted the crash course last weekend. Tyann Marcink Hammond, owner of Branson Family Retreats and president of the Missouri Vacation Home Alliance, said they organized the event so people understand how to be safe, uplifting and respectful hosts.
“We expect lots of folks wanting to take the opportunity next summer, but there is that gap of they don't quite know what to do,” Hammond said. “And it's not very responsible to expect people to be thrown in the deep end, to swim or find all their information in a Facebook group on social media or on TikTok.”
Hammond said opening opportunities for short-term stays during the World Cup could be an economic benefit for Kansas City.
“When travelers are staying in the homes, they're in the neighborhood, so then they get to go to the neighborhood coffee shops and the local bookstores and all the local places that don't see a lot of the commercial activity downtown,” she said. “But because of people hosting in their home, they're able to spread that economic impact further out throughout all districts of the city.”
Attendees sat attentively around tables in the auditorium of the Robert J. Mohart Center off Linwood Boulevard. They listened to scores of speakers talk about how much money they could make from the World Cup (a lot), when visitors will start booking their stays in Kansas City (they’re looking now) and how local laws are changing on short-term rentals ahead of next summer (lower permit fees).
Speakers also presented a bevy of data. For instance, there are a little more than 4,000 short-term rental listings in the Kansas City area, according to the data company Air DNA. Airbnb estimates there’s a demand for 10,000 short-term rental units for the entire World Cup period in Kansas City.
Kansas City resident Adam Kinner manages some short-term rentals and helps locals list their homes. Kinner is even thinking about listing his downtown apartment, near the National WWI Museum and Memorial, during the World Cup. That’s where Kansas City will host the FIFA Fan Festival, a spot for soccer fans to watch the matches for free.
“I'm moving back into my parents' basement and going to rent my own house out, which is not something I would ever do, but this is such a unique opportunity that anyone in the city can take advantage of it, and we're blessed to have that,” Kinner said.
Gerri Kennedy is interested in using three properties as a short-term rental during the World Cup.
“I've not done an Airbnb or a short-term rental before, but I have stayed at things like this,” Kennedy said. “So I just want to make my home comfortable and welcoming to the new people that will be coming in town for the World Cup and generate some money from it.”
Changes in city Airbnb laws
The hosting crash course came just one day after the Kansas City Council approved legislation allowing for a new category of short-term rentals: major events.
Under the change, the director of the neighborhoods department can set a special event period up to 90 days if lodging accommodations cannot adequately serve an anticipated surge in demand.
According to the Visit KC website, there are more than 36,000 hotel rooms in the metro area. Data from Kansas City shows there are about 526 current short-term rentals in the city, as of the beginning of November.
Comparing those numbers to the expectation of 650,000 World Cup visitors next summer, local leaders believe it’s in the city’s best interest to allow for more Airbnbs and short-term rentals to accommodate the surge in guests.
The city neighborhoods director has not yet determined if the World Cup will qualify as a major event. But attendees at the hosting crash course were antsy, with several people asking city staffers how soon the director could make the designation. A key date is coming up: the Dec. 5 World Cup draw, when Kansas City and the other U.S. host cities will learn where teams will play during the tournament.
If the World Cup is listed as a major event, residents can apply for a special short-term rental permit and pay a $50 permit fee, less than the normal $200 fee for regular short-term rentals. The same rules for owner-occupied and non-owner-occupied rentals still apply.
Andrea O’Hara, executive director of the Hotel and Lodging Association of Greater Kansas City, wasn’t fully on board with the changes.
“What I think we believe will happen here is, it's just more work for the city than it's worth financially,” she said.
