Pan Ams draw more hosts than renters to Airbnb

Two-thirds of rooms listed on Airbnb for event remain available during Games.

Thestar.com
May 15, 2015
By Sarah-Joyce Battersby

Anyone panning for gold on Airbnb this summer might want to look beyond Pan Am.

The Games, so far, are not shaping up to be the quick-buck bonanza potential hosts may expect.

According to data provided to the Star, more than two-thirds of units listed on the home-sharing service are still up for grabs during the Pan and Parapan Am Games in July and August.

Games’ organizers expect 250,000 visitors, but the events’ sprawling nature and many more available rentals appear to have combined to create a visitors’ market.

So the luxury Yorkville condo overlooking a Pan Am venue listed on Airbnb for $1,200/night, more than double its average rate, might have to slash prices to stay competitive, said Ian McHenry, co-founder and president of Beyond Pricing.

“The number of listings on Airbnb in Toronto in the last year has almost tripled,” he said.

Airbnb host Tanya Rosenberg thought putting Pan Am in the title of her posting would attract more renters to her home in the Beach, but no one took the bait.

When the Parapans come to town in August, Rosenberg’s home will be occupied by a British family in town for a wedding. The Games weren’t the main draw in July, either.

“One person booked for the Beaches Jazz Festival, but nobody for the Pan Am Games. No. Zero.”

McHenry’s Beyond Pricing is a San Francisco-based startup that studies Airbnb availability and hotel price data. The information can help tell hosts when to raise prices by showing when demand will be highest.

Its data shows hotel rates during Games time are holding steady and not climbing.

Compare that to when the Caribbean Carnival parade is held in August. As of May 8, hotel rates have climbed 18 per cent for Aug. 1, parade day.

“Prices really go up when the hotels are going to be sold out, and it’s pretty clear at least at this point that won’t be the case (during Pan Am),” McHenry said.

With the Games spread out across three weeks and 16 municipalities, McHenry is not surprised that hotels are only charging regular rates.

“What really affects prices is when everyone is trying to stay in the exact same area,” he said.

Terry Mundell, the president and CEO of the Greater Toronto Hotel Association, adds that visitors are still making plans as details on matchups and team rosters for the Games slowly trickle out.

“Some of the process is working through the system now. We’re not particularly concerned. There’s still lots of room,” he said.

And leisure travellers tend to book closer to events, according to Andrew Weir, the executive vice president of Tourism Toronto.

Following partnerships with the World Cup and TIFF in 2014, Airbnb recently teamed up with the 2016 Rio Olympics to provide alternative accommodation.

But despite preliminary conversations with Games’ organizers, no such partnership has been announced for Pan Am.

“There is still lots of availability at all different levels. And people can choose what’s right for them,” said Toronto 2015 spokesperson Teddy Katz.

Airbnb has been hosting information sessions ahead of the Games in an effort to sign up potential hosts.

Though Aaron Zifkin, the company’s country manager for Canada, said they hold similar events all year long, prospective hosts the Star spoke with at an event last Thursday primarily wanted to make extra cash during the Games.

“Our community is growing really, really fast as a result of Pan Am,” Zifkin said, citing the high demand for the sessions.

More hosts signing up for Airbnb around big events is something McHenry has seen before.

“It is definitely a great recruiting tool.”