Super Bowl rentals: Southwest metro residents cash in

Shakopee Valley News

With the Super Bowl rapidly approaching, some residents of the southwest metro are preparing their own homes to take on the influx of visitors from out of town.

Prior Lake and Shakopee residents could cash in on their proximity to U.S. Bank Stadium and the other attractions in the area like Canterbury Park, Mystic Lake Casino Hotel and Club Nomadic, some renting their homes for the first time.

The rules

In Prior Lake, these short-term rentals come with a catch — a permit. The yearly permit is $205 and is required for rentals of 30 days or less. If there’s no permit, there will be fines.

“We’re complaint based so if somebody complains on (a property), then I’m confirming if there’s a violation or not,” Prior Lake Code Enforcement Officer Dale Stefanisko said.

The permit, as well as ordinances relating to noise and other rules that come with living in a suburban area, requires property owners or an agent are able to respond to an emergency within an hour, or be within 30 miles of the property. Those with permits can rent out up to five times per month.

The city then lists the addresses of the approved short-term rentals on its website which currently lists 10 properties. However, there’s more than that on Airbnb alone and that’s not the only website available to list your own home as a rental.

Three of the listed addresses belong to Lady Loon Property Management, owned by Cindy Langer. Langer rents the properties year-round for visitors to the Twin Cities metro.

“We have a lot of people that instead of staying at a hotel, they’re coming to town for various reasons ... and they’d rather stay on a lake than in the cities and take advantage of everything that we have,” Langer said.

Renting your own home can be dangerous due to theft or accidental damage from visitors. People who are renting their homes for the first time sometimes don’t know about the permit and don’t bother with rental insurance, Langer said.

“People need to be really concerned about theft and be concerned about personal items getting damaged,” she said. “It’s not something to jump into lightly. I would tell people who are considering renting their own homes for this to be aware that you could have a serious problem in your home and the benefits of the rent that you would make for the week of the Super Bowl would not cover what your losses were.”

The permit process ensures both the owner and the renter are legally covered, Langer said.

“Everything is screened by the city to make sure that it is a legitimate business and a home for people to stay in,” she said.

Though some renters might be waiting for a bite of interest on their property, Stefanisko said property owners should focus on getting their permits first.

“If you’re advertising for a business, then you should rightfully have the business license, or in this instance, it’d be a permit,” Stefanisko said. “It’d be like you’re opening a store and saying, ‘I’m going to wait until I get a customer before I get a license for it.’”

Some cities don’t even allow short-term rentals, such as Lakeville and Burnsville. While Shakopee allows them, there’s no code enforcement or regulations on the types of property, Shakopee Police Chief Jeff Tate said.

The rentals

Available Airbnb rentals include rooms available for $24 per night to entire mansions complete with a private driver for $5,000 per night and everything in between.

Langer rents a four-bedroom, two-bath for $375 per night, a four bedroom, three-and-a-half bath for $425 and a two-bedroom, one-and-a-half bath for $250 a night. All of her properties are lakefront.

“You have to have sort of a highlight to your property in this area if you’re going to do short-term,” Langer said.

Prior Lake resident Carter Nelson is renting out a four-bedroom, five-bath home available for 10 guests for $2,000 per night. Nelson said he has not rented his home before, but does own rental properties.

“We figured it was a good way to make money,” Nelson said.

Shakopee resident Dennis Mwaura is renovating his three-bedroom, three-bath home and was hoping to net some earnings to pay for the renovations. His home is listed as $399 per night, though he’s said he hasn’t had any bookings yet.

“(I was) speaking to some of my friends (and they) stated that hotels are booked and people are going out as far as St. Cloud, Mankato and Rochester,” Mwaura said. “So, I was told there would be a lot of interest to be closer to the cities.”

Mwaura, who also hasn’t rented his home before, said he’s also using a company called Turo to rent out his private vehicle to visitors as he heard there would be a shortage of rental cars.

Shakopee resident Carol Meiners said she decided to rent her town home for $450 a night because she works in downtown Minneapolis, where most hotels and condos are already booked.

“So I thought, ‘why not?’” Meiners said.

No takers... yet

Most of the renters said there had been inquiries about the rentals but no bookings as of yet.

However, with 12 teams still in the running (though four will be eliminated over the weekend) it’s possible fans are waiting to hear if their team is going to make it before snapping up a property.

If the Minnesota Vikings aren’t in the big game, then two entire legions of fans will need to stay in the area — and even out-of-town Vikings fans will, if they do make it.

“We posted our home in July, but assumed we wouldn’t hear from any prospective renters until they found out if their teams made it,” Shakopee resident Brianna Wiesner said.

Wiesner is renting out a four-bedroom, three-bath house for $300 per night.

“We’ve had people looking at it, which makes sense as they need to have some idea of what’s available,” she said.

Meiners said she has also had viewings and agrees that people are waiting on teams, but looking at the possibilities.

Langer said she has booked one of the three properties for that weekend but expects to be fully booked by February.

“I would guess that people will be coming into town, not only for the Super Bowl, but for other events and then anybody who is looking to come into town anytime ... will be searching out different avenues for rentals,” Langer said.

Wiesner said the Super Bowl was the perfect opportunity to try and rent her house.

“The last time anyone in the cities had an opportunity to do this was almost 30 years ago,” Wiesner said.

And at that time, Airbnb and sites like it didn’t even exist, making the process that much easier now.

Stefanisko said the department has not received more permit applications than usual but anticipates a spike. Permit applications can be done as soon as a day or two in advance.

“It’s just a matter of them applying, payment and (then) I get the paperwork and go out to the property and validate a couple of things,” he said.

The advantages

For some visitors, home rentals are preferable to staying in a hotel. For instance, at Langer’s properties, the rentals are fully stocked and fully furnished.

“You can cook your own meals,” Langer said. “You have a lot of the conveniences of a home. You really only have to bring your clothing. I think a lot of people like to be able to cook their own meal and not stay in a hotel every time they’re traveling.”

Nelson said the experience is better for those wanting more privacy than being right next door to 300 neighbors.

“They get privacy and don’t have to deal with parking,” Nelson said. “Plus, it’s a lot more space.”

Homes can also be shared among friends to share costs and share fun, Wiesner said.

“I think renting a house or apartment is preferred, because you get more bang for your buck,” Wiesner said. “You can rent a house with several other people and split the cost.”

Homes can offer amenities such as pools, boat rental, grocery delivery and more, in addition to being close to desirable locations.

“People like a move-in ready situation where they just show up with a toothpaste and they’re ready for vacation fun,” Langer said.