Every April, Little 500 weekend floods Bloomington with the energy of IU students, alumni, locals and any of the other thousands that gather for the yearly tradition. Non-residents coming to experience the weekend in town will need a place to stay, whether that be with a student, in a hotel or by booking short-term rentals like Airbnb's.
For Airbnb hosts in college towns across the country, graduation weekend is traditionally their busy season, but how do events like Little 500 compare to the rest of the year?
For many hosts, it isn’t much different. In terms of bookings spikes, rental prices and general rowdiness of guests that might be throwing parties or having large number of visitors, many don’t even register the change.
“It’s no more of a problem than any other time,” Brookie Reiman, a local Airbnb host, said. “For me, honestly, the worst time for parties is probably around high school graduation and at college graduation.”
She and others echoed a similar experience — a decrease in bookings throughout the winter until about March, with graduation standing out as the major event that changes demand and allows hosts to raise prices. Another host and local real estate broker, Jordan Rothenberg, hosts 17 properties through his company, Adaptive Rentals. Rothenberg cited the “Cignetti effect,” that brought his properties graduation-like spikes in bookings in the fall, but said Little 500 wasn’t on his radar.
Reiman’s properties are further from the action, she said, away from downtown and closer to Lake Monroe, which could be a contributing factor to why she doesn’t see more traffic during Little 500 weekend. Still, when she first started hosting, she assumed that it would be a weekend where she would be able to increase prices. That turned out to not be the case.
For some hosts, location means everything. Devin Thomas hosts three properties, one of which is just a few blocks away from Bill Armstrong Stadium, where the race takes place.
“Little 500 is like Bloomington’s Super Bowl,” Thomas said.
She and her husband are both IU alumni and like to add special touches to their properties for their guests to take part in the Little 500 spirit.
“We like adding fun touches from local businesses, and we prepare a lot more with getting to know who our guests are,” Thomas said.
They host former steering committee members, family and friends of alumni and past riders. Her property within walking distance to the race was booked in July of last year. Another, a little farther from campus, wasn’t filled until March.
Her approach to hosting is hands-on. She and her team ask guests about their plans and screen out anyone who might be more interested in partying than celebrating responsibly.
“This year, we didn't really change anything with our listings to market towards different guests,” Thomas said. “We just filter through asking good questions.”
For Thomas, hosting during Little 500 isn’t just about providing a place to sleep — it’s about helping guests reconnect with a place they love.
“It’s really more about creating a space where they can get together, rather than just be together,” she said. “Stay together. Be together. Enjoy your time together. Reminisce about all those college fun memories rather than just having a place to crash.”
