Commencement weekends are good business for Airbnb hosts in KC

Commencement weekend at the University of Missouri-Kansas City showed a 24 percent spike in Kansas City Airbnb rentals over the previous week, the residence-sharing company said Monday.

On Tuesday, the City Plan Commission is scheduled to receive public input on a proposed Kansas City ordinance regulating sharing-economy stays in the city.

The city seeks to put time limits on sharing-economy rentals and require permits and fees for hosts.

Airbnb said there were 430 active Airbnb hosts in Kansas City.

For the weekend of May 12, when UMKC held graduation exercises, the company said 1,614 guests were registered, providing an income of $258,000 for Airbnb hosts.

Similar higher-than-usual guest stays were recorded by Airbnb hosts for the University of Missouri-Columbia’s commencement weekend in Columbia and the University of Kansas in Lawrence.

Airbnb said in a statement that the home-sharing economy helps alleviate “an unfortunate degree of price gouging” that often occurs at high-demand times for lodging, particularly in university towns.

The Kansas City hearing is expected to draw Airbnb advocates who object to tighter regulation as well as property owners who object to transient use of nearby residences.

This story was originally published June 5, 2017 at 2:59 PM with the headline "Commencement weekends are good business for Airbnb hosts in KC."