Chicago hosts: What is demand like by season and neighborhood(North, Loop)?

[Alex292]

I was thinking of restarting airbnb(private rooms) in chicago (yeah, i saw the new regulations) now that I'm moving here.

1. I'd imagine that business takes a huge dive in winter but since chicago attracts a lot of business traffic, does this blunt the traffic drop off? Do the business travelers even rent rooms far outside the loop if the neighborhood is popular(Logan Square)?

2. I'd imagine that the north side would get much more tourist traffic and less business traffic? Is demand seasonal(hot in summer, bad in winter) then?

3. For those of you who have registered with the city....how long did it take.....anybody get turned down?

4. I'm trying to decide if I want a loop apartment or North/West side apartment. Which would be worth it if I planned to do Airbnb?

Thanks in advance

[John162]

Business traffic is picking up, it will not mitigate the falloff of leisure however, whole apartments will definitely struggle to meet long term rents, rooms are probably fine, if you can afford to let it be empty, keep in mind my whole apartments will be nearly as cheap as your room, and do you want someone in your house for $30 each night?

[Alex292]

You'd be surprised what people pay for shared places. Average price in the neighborhoods I'm targeting is $80-100-ish.

Usually what happens is the cheap full units get snapped up fast leaving the shared places or super high priced full units. 

[Misty8]

Hi Alex, 

I was a host here in Chicago for 2 years and regrettably can no longer do so due to my condo association.  I hosted out of a 1 bedroom offering up sleeping space in my living room.  I definitely saw May-October as my profitable months with some activity beginning late March/April and tapering off in early November.  I had a pretty even mix of short term < week and long term 1 month + guests.  December, January, and February never yielded any interest.  The things that worked in my favor were building amenities (elevator, pool, grill, library, lake view); proximity to CTA and straight shot to touristy activities; proximity to a major university (students looking for short term and visiting family); flexibility in check in/out and willingness to negotiate price; and what I call the personal touches (hosting style, amenities in the home, and neighborhood recommendations).  Even though my space was shared I was able to offer privacy and some storage for clothing.  In the summer, hosting covered my mortgage but I wasn't reliant on airbnb to cover my bills.  The 3 most frequent requests from guests were for parking, directions/recommendations, and flexible or early check in.

Hope this helps!

Misty 

[Lauren193]

I'm in the northwest side and I still get a ton of guests 87%+ occupancy from funerals, training conferences, family reunions, bar mitzvas, and people passing through for business. I have no trouble at all with keeping my rooms full. Just ancidotal though.

[Mike444]

It's pretty brutal in the winter. To take advantage of business traveler's business, you have to offer a really business centric offering like being close to a place where they host a lot of conferences and have many biz amenities. Your average apartment or private room is rarely going to be attractive to biz travelers.

Seasonality in Chicago is harsh - there's much available data on its dynamics. For non business centric listings, you can basically expect anywhere from 25%-75% dropoff from your peak earnings depending on where you are located and what your winter strategy is. 

There are differing winter strategies based on your market positioning that can soften the dropoff from peak earnings, do some research and position yourself well and you should get through with some profit over the winter.

[Inna22]

@Mike444Care to share your winter strategy? I could not be happier with my March to August bookings but Jan and Feb are tough

[Mike444]

January and February I actually break from Airbnb work with some exchange student schools to fill my rooms with students who are on 1-2 month programs.