Baseball player Brian Traxler is hoping to have a few people over to his San Antonio home this weekend for the NCAA Final Four–at a cost of $2,000 to $3,000.
Traxler, a former member of the San Antonio Missions, is one of several homeowners in the Alamo City looking for a windfall renting their homes as alternative lodging for visitors during the holy grail of college basketball.
After reading a newspaper account of slim pickings for the Final Four weekend at local hotels, Traxler and his girlfriend decided “we could rent (the house) for four or five days, and for the money people are spending on tickets, they wouldn’t mind paying,” Traxler said.
With downtown San Antonio hotels asking about $200 a night for the handful of rooms left, homeowners are demanding similar rates per bedroom, said Peter Herff III of San Antonio’s Herff Travel.
Herff has been listing 14 properties, primarily in the Castle Hills and Alamo Heights areas, from large homes to over-garage apartments.
Herff is recommending a four-night minimum stay at $200 a night for each bedroom: the equivalent of one or two monthly mortgage payments.
Most of the people making their houses available for a quick rental are Herff’s friends and acquaintances who have never rented their homes before.
Who is shelling out $2,400 to rent a three-bedroom home for a long weekend?
“Big spenders,” Herff said.
The money is a drop in the bucket to a corporate client from Washington who just laid out $7,500 for three decent ticket packages to attend the Final Four.
The idea is not without precedent, Herff said.
In 1996, hundreds of private homes in Atlanta were listed for short-term rental to handle the overflow of visitors in town for the Summer Olympics. A similar phenomenon grips the small community of Augusta, Ga., every year during professional golf’s Masters tournament.
Norm Haugen, who is renting a room and private bathroom in his home for $150, has become an old hand at letting to strangers since the last of the kids moved out six years ago.
After retiring from the Air Force, Haugen and his wife joined a bed-and-breakfast club about four years ago to make travel cheaper. The club allows people in the network to stay in the homes of members for $15 to $20 a night, usually in an extra room. In return, Haugen makes his home available to other members.
He said he sees the Final Four as a way to make a little money to pay for his next vacation.
Although not spelled out in the $60 classifed advertisement, Haugen said smokers need not apply.
There are a few caveats for short- term rentals.
San Antonio real estate lawyer North O. West said homeowners should check the language of their homeowners insurance policy before charging a stranger to stay in their home.
Some policies also will not cover damage done to the home by renters unless a special rider is attached to the insurance, he said.
Haugen and Traxler both say they will take some steps to protect themselves. Haugen said he will screen the potential renters.
Traxler is requiring references and a security deposit.
He said he wasn’t worried about leaving his home in the hands of strangers and would spend Final Four weekend fishing on the Gulf Coast.
