The Summer of Our Discontent: The Short-term Rental Surge is Upon Us

The signs of summer are in the air. The last thaw is (hopefully) happening. Soon people will be pulling out their camping gear and hitching up their boats and heading north. Or grabbing their beer bongs and dime bags and heading to the nearest music festival. Or grabbing their closest group of gal pals and hitting up every winery they can find.

The point is, people like to travel in the summer and need places to stay while doing so. The biggest increase in vacation rentals occurs during this time, and almost no city or state is spared:

• In Minnesota’s Cook County, vacation cabin rentals have become so popular May-September, real estate ads have begun touting home’s “VRBO potential” and city officials are struggling to keep up.
• During last year’s Lollapalooza festival in Chicago, 19,000 guests stayed in Airbnb rentals during that time – the largest surge in the city’s Airbnb history.
• In the quaint little towns of Maine, last summer saw short-term rentals increase by 45 percent over the prior year.

Obviously, this summer surge isn’t the result of quiet business travelers attending conferences. These travelers, no matter where they are going or what they are doing, all have one thing in common – they have come to party. A quick Google search can tell you what can happen when people come to short-term rentals, ready to party, but common sense works just well.

If you’re a property owner or manager concerned about how to protect your properties from the upcoming summer vacation season, please contact us at LeaseAbuse to learn how we can help.