Hundreds of visitors to Omaha this weekend for the NCAA Basketball Tournament at the CenturyLink Center spent the night in rooms and homes booked through Airbnb. . Benjamin Breit is with Midwest Airbnb and says s 650 visitors to Omaha booked their lodging through Omaha Airbnb earning hosts an estimated $50,000 combined in supplemental incomes. He says about half were people sharing vacant rooms in their home. The other half rented a full home that is listed as a proper vacation rental. Most of the visitors were from Kansas to see the Jayhawks play.
The Oracle of Omaha, Warren Buffett is a huge supporter of this alternative lodging outlet. Breit says, "He was actually seeing during the annual investor’s conference that hotels were price-gouging. He didn't like that his middle class investors that were saving up to come to Omaha for this big event were being gouged with un-affordable rates so he went publicly and encouraged the Omaha community to consider Airbnb. Last year the Berkshire Investors Conference marked by far the largest influx of Airbnb guests to the city. As we look at our very preliminary data for this coming investor's conference it looks like it will dwarf last year's numbers."
Breit says Omaha Airbnb popularity continues to grow and is very busy during big sporting events like the CWS and the U.S. Olympic Swim Trials but it is becoming more popular to use for vacation rentals.
The availability also puts Omaha on the map as being a place that can host large events and conferences and can easily handle the demands. Breit says it also helps Omaha’s economy. The longer people stay in town the more merchants, restaurants, pubs and other businesses flourish.