KSHB 41 reporter Marlon Martinez covers Platte and Clay counties in Missouri. Share your story idea with Marlon.
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Northland homeowners who listed their properties on short-term rental platforms ahead of the FIFA World Cup are finding the expected booking bonanza has been slower to arrive — though a late wave of reservations is offering some renewed optimism.
Susan Brown, who rents out her own home and represents more than 1,000 short-term rental owners across the Kansas City area, says many hosts — particularly first-timers — prepared for months only to face disappointment when bookings didn't roll in as expected.
"We were expecting a blowout. We just thought this would be crazy," Brown said.
Brown says a surge of new listings, combined with hotel rooms that were initially held by FIFA being released back to the market, created more competition than hosts anticipated.
"We didn't realize that FIFA was going to book up all the hotel rooms, and then at the last minute open those all up," Brown said.
Brown monitors sentiment among hosts through a Facebook group with 1,300 members.
"I have a 1300 member short-term rental alliance Facebook group, and I put out the question, you know, on a monthly basis. How's everybody doing? Are you getting bookings? Just so I could keep tabs on what's going on. And yes, there, there had been a lot of disappointment," Brown said.
Despite the slower start, Airbnb says the World Cup is on track to be the biggest hosting event in the company's history. The platform also reports Kansas City ranked No. 1 among all 16 host cities for new host growth and ranks second among U.S. host cities for last-minute bookings.
The Short-Term Rental Alliance says hosts closer to the stadium are seeing stronger booking numbers than those farther away.
"You would see some people who would say I'm 100% booked, this is awesome. And then you'd see the next person say I don't have anything, so it's never going to be even. It depends on how far away you are from the stadium," said Brown.
Brown says recent days have brought a noticeable shift.
"I think the last few days have been game changer. I think people are watching what's happening on TV," Brown said.
With several matches still scheduled in Kansas City, hosts are hoping the late momentum holds. According to Airbnb, guests from Ecuador, Argentina and Mexico lead international bookings for tournament-time stays in the city.
Brown says she remains hopeful about bookings during the last few weeks of the tournament.
"I think, for those of us that have been doing this for a while, it, we could see the writing on the wall," Brown said.
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