As Seattle gears up for the FIFA World Cup matches, so are short-term rentals.
Airbnb is offering a major financial incentive to any first-time hosts, but there are some hoops to jump through.
KIRO 7 wanted to see what it’s like to become a first-time host. That’s where Kim Romano comes in. Her Seattle house is your classic character-filled short-term rental listing.
Soon, it will be listed on Airbnb for renting during the World Cup matches this summer.
“I’m a 20-minute walk or six-minute taxi to Northgate Station, I have two or three beds, and a dog door,” Romano said. “I can get quite a bit to make it worth it.”
She is doing this for Airbnb’s $750 incentive for first-time Seattle hosts.
Airbnb Senior Communications Lead Matt McNama tells us they are doing this in every World Cup host city.
“We found there’s a big surge in searches on Airbnb across all the host cities and that tells us there’s a big demand,” McNama said.
This means Romano is spending her days doing the ultimate spring cleaning in an effort to make her home ready for renters.
“I don’t ever want my son to have to go through my things later on, especially the box of all my journals, like oh no they won’t go through that,” Romano said.
With her permit already in hand, Romano tells us the city’s legal checklist is easy to navigate.
“It said 48 hours minimum to get your business license, well, guess what, it only took 15 minutes,” Romano said.
Beth Gappart with the City of Seattle tells us they have one major requirement to become a host.
“People are only allowed to rent out their own home and or one other property they own,” Gappart said.
She said you have to have the proper permitting and license to rent out your home, or you could be investigated and fined.
If you do things properly, renting out your home for a couple of weekends could be a game-changer.
“We found hosts could earn $3,800 over the duration of the event in Seattle,” McNama said.