Twin Cities Airbnb Community Growing Fast Ahead Of Super Bowl
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – Airbnb says its goal of doubling the hosting community in the Twin Cities ahead of Super Bowl LII is well ahead of schedule.
In February, the short-term rental platform announced Project 612, in which the company hoped to grow the local hosting community to about 2,000 hosts so that the Twin Cities could "take full economic advantage" of the NFL championship game.
On Thursday, the San Francisco-based company announced that the Twin Cities hosting community had swelled to more than 1,700 hosts – growing 73 percent over the last six months.
The rapid growth puts Project 612 "far ahead of schedule," the company says.
Meanwhile, Minneapolis and St. Paul are independently eyeing new regulations for the short-term rental platform.
So far, Minneapolis is drafting an ordinance and appears open to the sharing economy. On the other hand, St. Paul has proposed a rental cap for Airbnb hosts.
In a press release Thursday, Airbnb's Midwest policy director, Laura Spanjian, urged the local governments to consider simple regulations to ensure easy compliance for Aribnb hosts.
"Airbnb and our hosts fully support reasonable regulations," the statement said. "We are committed to serving as good partners to both St. Paul and Minneapolis every step of the way."
Currently, Airbnb prices in Minneapolis during the Super Bowl range from $40-a-night for a single bed in the Longfellow neighborhood to $5,000-a-night for a fancy loft in downtown Minneapolis.
In St. Paul, prices range from $30-a-night for a single bed near Macalester to $2,000-a-night for a full rustic-style home on Cathedral Hill.
The Super Bowl will be played Feb. 4 at U.S. Bank Stadium in downtown Minneapolis. There's expected to be concerts and parties before and after the championship match.
Earlier this week, a ritzy pop-up nightclub was announced to be built at Mystic Lake Casino in the south metro. The same entertainment group is currently working to turn The Armory in downtown Minneapolis into a concert space.