Airbnb Caught Price Gouging Super Bowl Attendees in Miami
AirbnbWATCH, an affordable housing advocate and consumer watchdog group, released a report showing significant price gouging of football fans traveling to Miami, Florida for Super Bowl LIV.
As the National Football League (NFL) season concludes in a dramatic faceoff between the Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers on Feb. 2, AirbnbWATCH released a report showing significant price gouging by Airbnb hosts in Miami, most of whom are commercial operators running multiple listings, for rentals during the Super Bowl.
The report reveals rates for many Airbnb listings, increasing by thousands of dollars per night during Super Bowl LIV. These findings are similar to those released last year surrounding Super Bowl LIII in Atlanta, Georgia. An Airbnb rental in Miami, which is normally rented for $61 per night, was being advertised for $3,691 per night during Super Bowl LIV. A typical three-night stay at that apartment would normally cost a total of $190, but the same length of stay during Super Bowl LIV would cost more than $10,000.
“Airbnb’s price gouging squeezed football fans during last year’s Super Bowl and now again for this year’s game. More egregiously, these hosts are squeezing affordable housing stock out of their communities,” stated Mike Lux, AirbnbWATCH’s spokesperson.
In a San Diego Union-Tribune article, Chris Lehane, Airbnb’s Head of Global Policy and Public Affairs said, “It’s pretty clear that our hosts don’t engage in gouging. When demand for Airbnb increases, supply also tends to increase. When you look at big events, like for a Super Bowl weekend, there’s maybe a $20 increase.”
Lux points out that the reports exposing Airbnb hosts gouging guests at major events, such as Mardi Gras, the VRBO Citrus Bowl and now at Super Bowl LIV, tell a very different story.
“The documented facts in this report speak for themselves in exposing Airbnb’s hypocrisy,” stated Lux. “Commercial Airbnb hosts will be busting the budgets of football fans with high lodging prices and testing the goodwill of their neighbors by bringing thousands of complete strangers into residential communities of Miami.”
Super Bowl LIV is scheduled for February 2, 2020.
