HOW PREPARED THEY REALLY ARE. SO WELCOME TO GRANDVIEW. THIS IS THIS IS ONE OF OUR WALK IN AND SAY WOW PROPERTIES. YEAH. WOW. THIS IS THE CROWN JEWEL IN PROFESSIONAL HOST CHAD WISE’S COLLECTION OF 125 HOMES. HIS COMPANY, HOST WISE, MANAGES. CHAD IS HERE TO HELP THE PITTSBURGHERS, WHO MAY BE CONSIDERING HOSTING FOR THE VERY FIRST TIME. I WILL TELL YOU THAT ANYTIME THERE IS A STEELERS GAME, ANYTIME SOMEONE LIKE TAYLOR SWIFT COMES TO TOWN, THIS ENTIRE CITY SOLD OUT. YOU CAN’T FIND A HOTEL ROOM, YOU CAN’T FIND A SHORT TERM RENTAL, POTENTIALLY WITHIN 15 OR 20 MILES OF THE CITY. WITH THIS EVENT EXPECTED TO BE BIGGER THAN ANY OF THOSE PAST EVENTS, IT WILL BE CRUCIAL FOR MORE PEOPLE TO TRY THEIR HAND AT HOSTING EVEN HOTELS. REALIZE THE IMPORTANCE SHORT-TERM RENTALS WILL PLAY FOR THE DRAFT. SO WE’RE TALKING ABOUT 500,000 TO 700,000 PEOPLE I THINK IS ESTIMATE RIGHT. COMING IN FOR THE DRAFT. 35,000 HOTEL ROOMS. THAT DOESN’T SOUND LIKE IT WOULD BE ENOUGH. SO WHAT ARE SOME WHAT ARE SOME OTHER OPTIONS FOR PEOPLE? WELL, THE SHORT TERM RENTAL IS GOING TO BE VERY, VERY IMPORTANT. SO I’M ASSUMING THAT INDUSTRY IS VERY EXCITED ABOUT THE OPPORTUNITY AS WELL. PERRY IVORY IS PRESIDENT OF THE GREATER PITTSBURGH HOTEL ASSOCIATION. THEY HAVE BEEN IN CONTACT WITH THE NFL SINCE THE VERY BEGINNING. THE NFL CAME ON SITE HERE IN PITTSBURGH, TOURED OUR HOTELS, AND THEY CHOSE THAT WE COULD HANDLE THE INFRASTRUCTURE OF HAVING ALL THESE PEOPLE AT OUR HOTELS, AND OUR AMENITIES ARE WORLD CLASS. AND SO THEY WERE VERY PLEASED WITH IT. SO THEY CHOSE PITTSBURGH. IVORY SAYS THERE ARE 19,000 HOTEL ROOMS IN ALLEGHENY COUNTY AND 35,000 IF YOU INCLUDE SURROUNDING COUNTIES. WE’RE TALKING ABOUT ALLEGHENY COUNTY, WASHINGTON COUNTY, BEAVER COUNTY, ALL THESE PLACES HAVE HOTELS, AND IT WILL SPREAD OUT TO THEM, AND WE CAN ACCOMMODATE THE PEOPLE COMING IN. THAT MEANS IF YOU’RE WATCHING THIS FROM BEAVER, BUTLER, WASHINGTON OR WESTMORELAND, YOUR COMMUNITY COULD BENEFIT TOO. IF YOU DO DECIDE TO TRY YOUR HAND AT HOSTING FOR THE DRAFT, CHAD HAS THIS ADVICE. GIVE IT A TEST RUN FIRST. DON’T LET DRAFT WEEK BE YOUR FIRST GO. SECOND, YOU NEED TO KNOW THE RULES IN YOUR MUNICIPALITY. PITTSBURGH DOESN’T REQUIRE ANY PERMITS OR INSPECTION, BUT OTHER MUNICIPALITIES MIGHT. THIRD, YOU NEED TO PRICE YOUR PROPERTY, RIGHT? OF COURSE YOU WANT TO MAKE ENOUGH MONEY FOR IT TO BE WORTH YOUR TIME, BUT GUESTS, NAMELY FAMILIES COMING IN FOR THE DRAFT, HAVE TO BE ABLE TO AFFORD IT. WE CAN GO ON AIRBNB AND LOOK AND PUT OUR DATES IN AND SEE WHAT OTHER PEOPLE ARE CHARGING. IF YOU SEE THE AVERAGE PRICE IS $700 A NIGHT, YOU PROBABLY SHOULDN’T PRICE YOUR PLACE AT $5,000 A NIGHT. FINALLY, IF YOU ARE ONLY PLANNING TO DO THIS ONCE, YOUR BEST BET IS TO GO THROUGH ONE OF THE BIG SITES LIKE AIRBNB OR VRBO. THEY HAVE INSURANCE COVERAGE THAT TYPICALLY COMPLEMENTS YOUR HOMEOWNER’S, BUT YOU DO STILL HAVE TO LET YOUR INSURANCE CARRIER KNOW. A LOT OF TIMES THERE’S POLICY LANGUAGE IN THERE THAT SPECIFICALLY DISALLOWS SHORT TERM RENTAL. MATT STRALEY OF INSURANCE CONSULTANTS OF PITTSBURGH EXPLAINS, IF YOU DON’T GO THROUGH THE PROPER CHANNELS AND SOMETHING HAPPENS, YOU COULD BE ON THE HOOK. THEY’RE MOST LIKELY GOING TO DENY THE CLAIM AT THAT POINT, AND THEN YOU’D PRETTY MUCH BE ON YOUR OWN. WHETHER IT WOULD BE THE DAMAGE TO YOUR HOME OR A LAWSUIT THAT WOULD TAKE PLACE IF SOMEBODY GOT HURT. AS FAR AS WHEN THE HOTELS WILL START BOOKING. MOST HOTELS, WHICH ARE RUN BY MAJOR BRANDS, MARRIOTT, HILTON, HYATT, THAT’S USUALLY THEIR THEIR STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES IS A YEAR OUT. SOME CAN DO NINE MONTHS, BUT TYPICALLY A YEAR. AIRBNB CAN BE MORE OF A RANGE. BUT CHAD TOLD ME SIX MONTHS OUT WOULD BE THE SWEET SPOT FOR BOOKING. EXCITED AND LONG OVERDUE. I THINK PITTSBURGH IS A FOOTBALL TOWN, RIGHT? THAT’S WHAT WE’RE KNOWN FOR. SO WE’RE VERY EXCITED TO HOST AND GET PEOPLE TO OUR CITY TO LEARN THE CULTURE AND THE BACKGROUND OF THE PITTSBURG
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Allegheny County hotels, rentals gear up for massive NFL draft crowds
With the NFL draft in Pittsburgh under a year away, a question remains: Where will the hundreds of thousands of visitors stay? The Grandview is the crown jewel of professional host Chad Wise's collection. In total, his company HostWise manages 125 homes."I will tell you that any time there is a Steelers game, anytime someone like Taylor Swift comes to town, this entire city sold out. You can't find a hotel room, you can't find a short-term rental, potentially within 15 or 20 miles of the city," Wise said.With the NFL draft expected to be bigger than any of those events, it will be crucial for more people to try their hands at hosting. Even hotels realize the importance that short-term rentals will have concerning the draft.Pittsburgh's Action News 4 anchor Kelly Sasso asked about other options for people outside of hotel rooms. "The short-term rental is going to be very, very important, so I'm assuming that industry is very excited about the opportunity as well," said Perry Ivery, president of the Greater Pittsburgh Hotel Association. "The NFL came on-site here in Pittsburgh, toured our hotels, and they chose that we could handle the infrastructure. Having all these people in hotels and our amenities are all class. And so they were very pleased with it. So they chose Pittsburgh."He said there are 19,000 hotel rooms in Allegheny County, and 35,000 if you include surrounding counties."We're talking about Allegheny County, Washington County, Beaver County, all of these places have hotels. And that will spread out to them. And we can accommodate the people coming in," Ivery said.That means those from Beaver, Butler, Washington, Westmoreland and surrounding communities could benefit, too.If you decide to try your hand at hosting for the draft, Wise has this advice: give it a test run first and do not let draft week be your first go. Second, know the rules in your municipality. Pittsburgh does not require any permits or inspections, but other municipalities might. Third, you need to price your property right. You need to make enough money for it to be worth your time, but guests, namely families coming in for the draft, have to be able to afford it."We can go on Airbnb and look at, put our dates in and see what other people are charging. If you see the average price is $700 a night, you probably shouldn't price your place at $5,000 a night," Wise said.Finally, if you're only planning to do this once, your best bet is to go through one of the big sites like Airbnb, VRBO or HomeAway. Those sites have insurance coverage that typically complements your homeowner's, but you still have to let your insurance carrier know."A lot of times there's policy language in there that specifically disallows short-term rental," said Matt Straley, manager of Insurance Consultants of Pittsburgh. "They most likely can deny the claim at that point, and then you'd pretty much be on your own. Whether it would be the damage to your home or a lawsuit that would take place or somebody got hurt."As far as when hotels will start booking, Ivery said, "Most hotels which are brand by major brands — Marriott, Hilton, Hyatts — that's usually their standard operating procedures of the year out. Some can do nine months, but it used typically a year."Airbnb can be a range, but Wise said six months out might be your sweet spot for booking."Excited and long overdue. I think Pittsburgh is a football town, right? That's what we're known for. So we're very excited to host and get people to our city to learn the culture and background of the Pittsburgh Steelers and everything that we have to offer here in Pittsburgh," Ivery said.
PITTSBURGH —
With the NFL draft in Pittsburgh under a year away, a question remains: Where will the hundreds of thousands of visitors stay?
The Grandview is the crown jewel of professional host Chad Wise's collection. In total, his company HostWise manages 125 homes.
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"I will tell you that any time there is a Steelers game, anytime someone like Taylor Swift comes to town, this entire city sold out. You can't find a hotel room, you can't find a short-term rental, potentially within 15 or 20 miles of the city," Wise said.
With the NFL draft expected to be bigger than any of those events, it will be crucial for more people to try their hands at hosting. Even hotels realize the importance that short-term rentals will have concerning the draft.
Pittsburgh's Action News 4 anchor Kelly Sasso asked about other options for people outside of hotel rooms.
"The short-term rental is going to be very, very important, so I'm assuming that industry is very excited about the opportunity as well," said Perry Ivery, president of the Greater Pittsburgh Hotel Association. "The NFL came on-site here in Pittsburgh, toured our hotels, and they chose that we could handle the infrastructure. Having all these people in hotels and our amenities are all class. And so they were very pleased with it. So they chose Pittsburgh."
He said there are 19,000 hotel rooms in Allegheny County, and 35,000 if you include surrounding counties.
"We're talking about Allegheny County, Washington County, Beaver County, all of these places have hotels. And that will spread out to them. And we can accommodate the people coming in," Ivery said.
That means those from Beaver, Butler, Washington, Westmoreland and surrounding communities could benefit, too.
If you decide to try your hand at hosting for the draft, Wise has this advice: give it a test run first and do not let draft week be your first go.
Second, know the rules in your municipality. Pittsburgh does not require any permits or inspections, but other municipalities might.
Third, you need to price your property right. You need to make enough money for it to be worth your time, but guests, namely families coming in for the draft, have to be able to afford it.
"We can go on Airbnb and look at, put our dates in and see what other people are charging. If you see the average price is $700 a night, you probably shouldn't price your place at $5,000 a night," Wise said.
Finally, if you're only planning to do this once, your best bet is to go through one of the big sites like Airbnb, VRBO or HomeAway. Those sites have insurance coverage that typically complements your homeowner's, but you still have to let your insurance carrier know.
"A lot of times there's policy language in there that specifically disallows short-term rental," said Matt Straley, manager of Insurance Consultants of Pittsburgh. "They most likely can deny the claim at that point, and then you'd pretty much be on your own. Whether it would be the damage to your home or a lawsuit that would take place or somebody got hurt."
As far as when hotels will start booking, Ivery said, "Most hotels which are brand by major brands — Marriott, Hilton, Hyatts — that's usually their standard operating procedures of the year out. Some can do nine months, but it used typically a year."
Airbnb can be a range, but Wise said six months out might be your sweet spot for booking.
"Excited and long overdue. I think Pittsburgh is a football town, right? That's what we're known for. So we're very excited to host and get people to our city to learn the culture and background of the Pittsburgh Steelers and everything that we have to offer here in Pittsburgh," Ivery said.
