Atlanta’s Airbnb Super Bowl Prices: Are Hosts Really Making Thousands Per Night?

 Super Bowl LIII is just days away, and if you’ve been reading any of the articles about Airbnb Super Bowl listings in Atlanta, you would be led to believe hosts are making thousands of dollars per night from football fans who are flooding the town this weekend.

A quick look online also shows that Atlanta locals—many of whom are hosting on Airbnb for the first time this weekend—are trying to figure out how to list their place and make thousands with little or no effort.

Popular Searches Related to the 2019 Super Bowl

What do you get when you combine an extremely high-demand event like the Super Bowl with an influx of travelers willing to pay higher-than-normal prices for a once-in-a-lifetime trip?

The answer: lots of unbooked Airbnb listings.

The truth is, most travelers aren’t paying thousands per night to stay in Atlanta this weekend. Instead, inexperienced hosts who are listing at extremely high rates have created this perception while simultaneously pricing themselves out of the market. Even with the game only days away, many of these first-time (or infrequent) hosts still haven’t been booked.

Airbnb Super Bowl Prices: What People are Actually Paying

In AirDNA’s MarketMinder, we can see the rates that hosts think they can make (available rates) and the rates that guests are actually willing to pay (booked rates).

A quick look at the neighborhood closest to Mercedes Benz Stadium (zip code 30313) this weekend shows the median booked rate ($899) for 2-bedroom listings is nearly 50% lower than the median of what hosts think they can get ($1,700).

Despite the huge influx of people who need a place to stay in Atlanta this weekend, MarketMinder shows demand as low. Why? While more people are looking for accommodations, the influx of listings from inexperienced Airbnb hosts means there’s a ton of supply in the market—way more than normal.

Just one week after Super Bowl LIII, the total number of listings in the market drops from 92 to 67.

The novice hosts who are trying to make a quick buck this weekend have taken their listings off the market—reducing supply in the market by nearly 30%.

But there’s still time left for these new hosts to cash in on people willing to pay thousands at the last minute for a place this weekend, right?

When Did Travelers Book their Airbnb Super Bowl Accommodations?

According to Airbnb’s Super Bowl research from last year, 60% of travelers booked accommodations once the match-up was set. Since this year’s teams were finalized almost two weeks ago, it’s fair to assume that well over 60% of people who are going to the Super Bowl and wanted an Airbnb for this weekend have already booked it.

Some of Atlanta’s first-time hosts will in fact make money this weekend. But many of them won’t.

The real story of Atlanta’s Airbnb Super Bowl accommodations isn’t that hosts are raking thousands of dollars: it’s that inexperienced hosts have flooded the market and don’t know how to properly price their listings. And many of these hosts will end up making a whopping zero dollars when Super Bowl LIII is over. 

How to Avoid Airbnb Pricing Mistakes for Big Events

For most Airbnb hosts, pricing is mostly a guessing game. You can see what other hosts are trying to charge by doing a search on Airbnb, but you can’t see what guests are actually paying. Understanding the market—both what others are charging and what guests are willing to pay—is key if you want to cash in on high-demand events.

Ready to get more bookings for high-demand events?

The residents of Atlanta are responding to Airbnb super bowl demand with sky-high rates. Read the blog to learn more about Airbnb super bowl prices in Atlanta.