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Politics

Spring Training a Home Run for Airbnb's Business in Florida

April 12, 2017 - 12:15pm

Twelve Florida cities can thank baseball and Airbnb for a massive uptick in business this spring, according to the latest data from the popular homesharing site. 

Each year, over a dozen Major League Baseball teams head south to warm up and get their teams in shape during Spring Training.

Florida’s Grapefruit League brought 15 MLB teams to the Central and Southwest Florida area, with all 12 cities hosting teams seeing huge spikes in Airbnb guest arrivals compared to the previous 5-week stretch.

Cities with large home-sharing markets like Sarasota, where the Baltimore Orioles practice during Spring Training saw a 91 percent spike while Kissimmee, where the Atlanta Braves practice, saw a 46 percent uptick. 

Both cities are incredibly popular for travelers year-round, but the Orioles and Braves’ large fan base contributed to an increase in Airbnb bookings.

Other smaller cities, like Jupiter, where the St. Louis Cardinals practice, saw a 64 percent spike in Airbnb bookings. Other cities, like Lakeland and Port St. Lucie saw an 82 percent spike and a 95 percent spike, respectively.

Dunedin, home to the Toronto Blue Jays, saw the largest increase in Airbnb bookings, multiplying business by 205 percent. 

Residents of the MLB baseball teams accounted for the largest share of Airbnb guests during Spring Training, with many Canadians and Missourians coming to Florida to cheer on their teams in Dunedin and Jupiter.

Meanwhile, state lawmakers are hashing out a proposal to deregulate vacation rentals and ban local municipalities from imposing restrictions or fines on vacation rentals.  

The bill, sponsored by Rep. Mike LaRosa, R-St. Cloud, proposal would effectively require municipalities to treat vacation rental homes just like any other home in any given neighborhood.

Beginning in 2011, those protections against regulations used to be available to vacation rental properties. But facing pressure from cities and local government, Florida caved, rolling back those regulations in 2014. 

Homesharing operations have been a booming industry in Florida in recent years. The premise is simple: homeowners can offer up their residences for rental purposes and vacationers can nab a better deal on top of a cozier experience than one they’d get at a hotel.

For Spring Training fans, the choice seems clear -- and Airbnb is one of their top picks to find a place to stay to watch their favorite teams go to bat.

“Spring Training represents a foundational component of the local economies for these 12 Florida cities,” said Airbnb Florida public policy director for Airbnb Tom Martinelli. “By expanding lodging capacity for regions with limited hotel inventory, Airbnb hosts helped welcome more families and baseball fans to their cities while serving as ambassadors for their local communities.”

 

Reach reporter Allison Nielsen by email at allison@sunshinestatenews.com or follow her on Twitter: @AllisonNielsen.

 

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