Airbnb reports spike in Twin Cities rentals for Ryder Cup

Airbnb reported significant spikes in home rentals during the recently finished Ryder Cup at Hazeltine National Golf Club.

Hennepin, Ramsey, Carver and Scott counties combined hosted 3,444 guests during the last week, a 163 percent increase over the typical week.

Airbnb reported 215 guests stayed in Chaska, where the Ryder Cup occurred. That's a significant jump — 1,265 percent — above a typical week.

The best European golfers went up against the best U.S. golfers in a team competition that ended Sunday with a victory by the Americans. The unusual biennial team event drew enthusiastic golf fans from all over the world and they needed places to stay. Attendance over the three days of the event and the preceding practice days exceeded 250,000, organizers have said.

By far, most of the visitors stayed in Hennepin County.

Hennepin County had 2,347 guests during Ryder Cup week, a 144 percent increase over a typical week, according to Airbnb spokesman Benjamin Breit. Ramsey County had 508 guests, a 134 percent increase over a typical week.

Carver County had 432 guests during the week, a 732 percent increase. Scott County homes hosted 67 Airbnb guests during the week, a 478 percent increase over a typical week.

Airbnb wasn't the only means of renting out a home during the cup, but it's one of the most established and popular.

Expect another spike in rentals when U.S. Bank Stadium hosts the Super Bowl in February 2018.

"A good comparison is the Indy 500, another wildly popular event where hotels sell out well in advance. Airbnb bookings in Indianapolis spiked over 800 percent in advance of the race," Breit said. "All of those people previously would've been out of luck or staying in hours away in the nearest available room. But the scalability of home sharing helped Indy expand capacity."

Staff Writer Jim Buchta contributed to this report.

Rochelle Olson • 612-673-1747