KANSAS CITY, Mo. — With thousands of visitors expected in Kansas City, Missouri, during the 2023 NFL Draft, some fans may steer away from hotels and look for rental homes on platforms like Airbnb.
Experts say it could pay for Kansas Citians to rent out a room in their home and make a few extra bucks during the big event.
Elizabeth Jordan has rented out rooms in her home for the past six years. She charges around $40 a night, and she says it helps her and her family pay the bills.
“We’ve been living in our current home for 3 years. It’s made $30,000 to $36,000 every year we’ve done it. It's paid for mortgage, updates and a little [extra] we’ve tried to build up [for] savings,” she said.
Jordan and her husband also run "Second Door," a property management company where they help people start up and manage short-term rentals.
“You have to get quality bedding, decorate the rooms in a quality manner," Jordan said. “You have to have a maintenance crew that you trust that can be there in a couple of hours, have a cleaning crew that will do a good, satisfactory job.”
According to Jordan, the demand for short term rentals will only grow in the years to come.
"There is a lot going on in Kansas City and more and more events are coming here like the NFL draft and World Cup," she said. "Companies like Facebook are investing in Kansas City and building a new data center here. As Kansas City grows, the need for short term rentals will grow as well."
Brian Glasser is another expert in this arena: he runs AKCO properties, a company that rents out homes and apartments for short-term stays across the Kansas City area.
Glasser says an average short-term rental house can bring in $30,000-$35,000 per year, but it takes some dedication from the property manager.
“I can tell you I’ve probably spent 80% of my morning messaging short terms rentals today," he said.
Renting out a room or home also involves some risk.
"You do have people destroy things," Jordan said. “Local bookings can be some of the most devastating bookings. Big party’s trash your house.”
Glasser advises taking some basic precautions.
"We really got to know our neighbors; it was one of the biggest things when we launched was to assure security," Glasser said. "All the neighbors get my card. We have cameras, front and back, [and] monitor how many people come in and out."
A couple of other things to keep in mind: many cities require people to register their short-term rentals, and in KCMO, owners have to get approval from 55% of their neighbors before renting out a property.
More information about registering a short-term rental in Kansas City is available on the city's website.
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