The fee for a new license that allows can be as much as $215. A new incentive from Airbnb would cover most of that fee.
The short-term rental service this week announced a $200 bonus for property owners putting their homes up on Airbnb. The incentive applies only to someone who has no active listings in the city as of Aug. 1. The listing must also be for an entire home, be open in January 2027, have a January 2027 booking confirmed by Dec. 31 this year, and cost at least $100 before taxes. The bonus is added to any hosting income.
Tenants who are renting a house and have an agreement with their landlord to rent it out during Sundance are eligible for the bonus, so long as they meet the other requirements.
Jill Grano, a local housing and real estate professional, calls the bonus “great.” She served with Gov. Jared Polis’ office as the statewide director of housing for the relocation effort of the Sundance Film Festival.
“It essentially covers the license fee, which is a barrier to entry for many, especially those with homes that will be more affordable to attendees,” Grano, who is running for Boulder City Council, wrote in an email to the Daily Camera.
Airbnb rental prices for Jan. 21 to Jan. 31, the Sundance dates, are thousands of dollars. Multiple homes in the Mapleton Hill neighborhood are listed for more than $20,000 for the length of the festival. A four-bedroom home in the neighborhood with 2½ bathrooms is listed at $129,120 for 10 nights for up to six guests.When parsed down to a single night, those prices budge a bit. For example, listings for Jan. 25-26 range from $92 for a room to thousands for luxurious multi-bedroom homes. Another listing for a single bedroom that night in a home near Hayden Reservoir goes for $834. A majority of the listings for those check-in, check-out dates go for a few hundred dollars.
There are 21 house listings in Boulder proper on Airbnb for Sundance’s first night in Boulder, which is Jan. 21-22. Those listings range in price from $183 for a townhome near Parkside Park to $7,989 for a four-bedroom, five-bed and five-bath home in north Boulder near Lover’s Hill Park.
The city’s $34 million initial incentive package to bring Sundance to Boulder banked on the famous film festival bringing people into town and spending money that would boost the local economy. But the high rental prices sparked concern that more attendees may stay out of town. For example, AirBNB listings in Longmont for Sundance’s first night are substantially lower than those in Boulder. A one-bed, one-bath in Longmontap Stoney Ridge neighborhood is listed at $77 for that night, and a one-bed, two-bathroom home near McIntosh Lake is listed at $113.
. Bookmark this link for the latest developments: .
