Airbnb hosts Omaha community event Saturday in hope of sign-ups

Airbnb, the Silicon Valley startup that pairs homeowners and travelers for easy lodging, is hosting a community event in Omaha Saturday. The event will be from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Omar Building, 4383 Nicholas St…

Airbnb, the Silicon Valley startup that pairs homeowners and travelers for easy lodging, is hosting a community event in Omaha Saturday. 

The event will be from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Omar Building, 4383 Nicholas St.

“Spring is here and we’re celebrating your fair city,” an email invitation sent out to members reads. “Please join Airbnb as we celebrate the best of local eats, drinks, and hospitality in Omaha. We’re serving up complimentary beer, drinks, snacks, and entertainment, alongside workshops and demonstrations from some of our favorite local designers and experts in hospitality.”

Airbnb staff will be on hand to give information about becoming an Airbnb host. 

Andrea La Mesa, regional manager for Airbnb North America, said the company occasionally hosts these parties in newer markets to show off local businesses and connect with local hosts and travelers from Omaha who use Airbnb. 

“We love to get to know the hosts and guests and hear their stories,” La Mesa said.

They also hope to drum up more hosts in the area. 

The event comes days after Warren Buffett sought out the service to help Berkshire Hathaway shareholders find cheaper accommodations for its annual stockholders meeting in Omaha from May 2-4.

“We are excited about the opportunity to find accommodations for Warren’s guests,” La Mesa said. “This is how our company started, from events and conferences in San Francisco and accommodating attendees through peoples’ homes.

“We also want to build some long-term relationships in Omaha and show people what the sharing economy is like.”

The Omaha World-Herald reported in March area hotels increased rates to at least $350 a night during the Berkshire event, two to three-times normal rates. Some hotels placed a three-day minimum stay for the weekend of the annual meeting, which more than 30,000 shareholders attend. 

Only 20 rentals in Omaha remain for Berkshire weekend and they range from $40 a night for a small one bedroom up to $850 a night for a large west Omaha home. The average price is about $345 a night, similar to hotel offerings. 

La Mesa said many sign up to make a little extra money, but find the relationships they make are fun and unique. It’s better to stay with people than a cookie-cutter hotel that could be in any city, he said. 

Airbnb has hosts in more than 34,000 cities with tens of thousands of listings in places like New York City to just a few in other. Omaha, a younger Airbnb market than others, has about 50 listings usually, according to Airbnb officials. 

“We’ve seen a lot more hosts list their property in the last two days for the Berkshire meeting only to get booked right away,” La Mesa said. 

It’s not often someone of Buffett’s stature reaches out to Airbnb, but often the market grows organically.

That’s how it worked with SXSW, where Airbnb partnered with the music and tech festival to provide more lodging amid a week where demand exceeds hotels availability.

“Some things just even surprise us, like Lyon, France, where we saw more and more bookings during a specific time of the year,” said public relations manager Marissa Coughlin. “We found out it’s the annual Festival of Lights, this beautiful thing in France that people flock to… so we put more emphasis on getting more hosts there.”

So a bit different when one of the world’s richest men comes calling, but equally as exciting.

“We’re excited about it, to be in Omaha and spend a week on the ground to meet with folks,” she said. 

 

Credits: Image from Airbnb.

This story is part of the AIM Archive

This story is part of the AIM Institute Archive on Silicon Prairie News. AIM gifted SPN to the Nebraska Journalism Trust in January 2023. Learn more about SPN’s origin »

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