Airbnb’s Booked & Busy This Festival Season

There are multiple different options for festival-goers to stay when it comes to festival season, hotels, Airbnb’s, and of course the popular on-site camping. Most festival go-ers I talked to said they chose the option to camp in their cars or in a tent in the on-site Coachella camping grounds, all for very similar reasons. "The experience and a big part is the pricing so it’s just more affordable to camp there on the Coachella site, but the experience it’s great, you can’t beat that you can’t get anything like that." says one festival go-er. Others just enjoy the convenience of being close to the venue. "Honestly, as soon as the festival ends, you can just walk to your campsite and it’s like right there, and also to go in between sets like you don’t have to stay inside the venue. You can just go back and chill at your campsite if you want to." says another festival attendee. Meanwhile many prefer to stay at more comfortable spots like hotels or opt for rentals like Airbnb’s, and with these busy next three weeks here in the valley, the desert becomes a top Airbnb destination amongst the short term rental site. "As local hosts are preparing to open up their homes and welcome these guests that are coming from all over the world. Hosts are offering them a comfortable and authentic stay on our platform." says Haven Thorn, the Communications Manager for Airbnb. Creating great opportunities for each host, earning hundreds and even thousands of dollars. "For these hosts, you know this recurring music festival represents a significant economic opportunity to earn for example, hosts in Coachella Valley, in Indio collectively earned over $9 million over the two weekend Coachella period last year." Kathy Brown, a host with multiple properties for rent on Airbnb, says this season is busy and worth it. "But it’s just been, it’s been great because people want to get a really good place early. It’s so crazy busy, but I look forward to it. Being the second most booked location in all of Palm Desert, she says the preparation is hard work, but she enjoys the experience. "Every year I meet the coolest people and of course you make a lot of money, but it’s just a blast. I have had great experiences." Brown says. Now, with it being season, Brown charges a whopping $750 a night, for multiple nights at a time.