JAIME-LEE WOODS
Gold Coast residents are taking steps to rent out their homes during the Commonwealth Games.
Locals are using websites such as Airbnb to benefit financially from the event.
Burleigh resident, Rodney Trever believes he will be able to charge $500 a night during the games for his four-bedroom home in Burleigh Waters.
“It’s not every day that we have hundreds of thousands of people who will need a place to stay in your city so I might as well make the most out of it,” Mr Trever said.
“People no longer want to stay in hotels, they want to experience as much of cities as they can,” he said.
Mr Trever said he may continue to rent out his home after the Commonwealth Games.
“Providing that everything goes smoothly, it will be definitely something I will consider doing in the future.”
With the increasing number of Airbnb’s on the coast, traditional accommodation businesses are suffering.
Many apartment owners are listing their rooms on Airbnb instead of using on-site management to avoid paying commission.
Receptionist for 2nd Avenue Apartments in Burleigh, Lorna Andreassend said they do not benefit from apartment owners renting out their rooms on Airbnb.
“By them coming in here we don’t actually get any money from them, all we are doing is charging for the departure clean,” she said.
“We have no way of stopping them from doing it, even though they are under contract to us they can still do it.”
Oceania Beachside Apartments Manager, David Prideaux suggested businesses need to adapt to the trend.
“I was totally against Airbnb for what they are doing to the market,” Mr Prideaux said.
“It’s is effecting business but the only way to get around it is to join it.”