$7,000 a night? Short-term rental prices skyrocket for Super Bowl 2023 weekend

Or the ideal spot is in a high rise near downtown Phoenix, splitting the difference between the football stadium and Scottsdale, a short walk to the NFL’s Super Bowl Experience at the Phoenix Convention Center?

With out-of-towners pouring into the Valley for the big game, just about any location is going to come with a hefty price tag.

According to rental owner Marie Esposito, most of the prices on rental websites such as Airbnb or Vrbo are based on owners balancing their prices against what they see from similar properties listed online.

“You look around and see what other people are charging,” Esposito said. “There’s people in a general price range that you base your own property on, but then there’s also people around me charging almost two grand a day, which is just ridiculous.”

There are examples of exorbitant prices for short-term rentals at all of the prime locations around the Valley.

For instance, a three-night Friday-to-Sunday stay at a five-bedroom “Cardinals Stadium House” a mile from State Farm Stadium was listed Monday on Airbnb for $9,950 a night.

A “marvelous one-bedroom” with space for four guests was listed for $7,000 near Old Town Scottsdale. And downtown Phoenix spaces were listed on Airbnb for as much as $4,500 a night.

However, there were bargains to be had, too. A downtown “penthouse” was listed for $480 a night. A four-bedroom home just 1.5 miles from the stadium was listed for $499 a night. And an Old Town one-bedroom apartment was listed for just $227 a night.

With prices averaging about $1,000 a night for homes close to the stadium or in other prime locations, some short-term rental owners are looking to boost their profit by taking advantage of the high demand generated by the Super Bowl and WM Phoenix Open on the same weekend.

Listings have jumped on average by about four times an average February weekend. Not every renter is finding takers for those big rents, though.

Larry Adams, who owns a two bedroom rental in Old Town Scottsdale, noted that with the high demand for a place to stay, interested parties have been booking since shortly after last year’s Super Bowl.

Adams originally had his place booked last March but recently put it back on the market after a late cancellation. While he could charge a higher price based on the current market, he would rather be realistic and settle for a rent that’s profitable but fair.

“I’m always under market because greed is bad and I just want to rent it out,” said Adams. “The market for my unit was showing closer to $1,000 a night, but my intention is to give someone a good price that wouldn’t ordinarily be here. So, I came up with $500.”

Pricing however, is still decided by a multitude of factors. Adams, who has worked in real estate for 37 years, fell back on the cliche for determining price. “Location, location, location,” he said. “That’s the top three. But then it gets into amenities and the convenience for people and the size that will separate your property from others.”

An uptick of rentals on the market has been a recurring theme in the Phoenix area as residents look to capitalize on the big weekend. A shortage of hotel rooms has driven prices for short-term rentals higher.

According to Becca Valcick, who works at AZrentahouse, a rise in available housing options correlates with people backing who decided not to sell their homes with the Super Bowl approaching.

“A lot of people that couldn’t sell their homes ended up putting their houses on the market so that they could list them for the Super Bowl,” she said. “So Scottsdale itself has over 4,500 rentals right now for the Super Bowl.”

With the Super Bowl expected to generate hundreds of millions of dollars, many Valley residents are trying to get a slice of the pie, whether it’s by renting out their luxury townhouse or a trailer.

Some homeowners are renting out individual rooms in their houses, or leaving town and renting their entire home for the three-day span. Some people are even renting their boats. Getmyboat.com has over 140 boats available for rent or charter over Super Bowl weekend located at Lake Pleasant, Saguaro Lake and Canyon Lake near the Valley.

One enterprising entrepreneur even listed an RV trailer on Airbnb for $150 a night that can be parked wherever the renter can find a spot. Or, the owner will deliver it to any location within 60 miles of downtown Phoenix. Setup is an additional $200.

“I just think that having an event as big as the Super Bowl in Arizona brings in money for us and the state. What they do with it, I don’t know. I don’t really care,” said Adams. “But I get a piece of it through my Airbnb and everyone gets a little bit here and there. The result of all of it is a little more money in our coffers for whatever we do with it.”