The NBA May Return to Seattle! Can You Capture the Short-Term Rental Opportunity?

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver has officially stated that he will discuss a plan to expand to 32 teams with all team owners in July. One of the cities attracting the most attention is our own Seattle.

Silver said, “There is tremendous interest from Seattle and Las Vegas, and expansion has officially been put on the agenda.”

For short-term rentals, this is more than sports news: It is an approaching window of opportunity. If you own a home in Seattle or are considering entering the short-term rental market, now is the time to take this signal seriously.

01 | NBA home games + event traffic = plenty of prime short-term rental dates throughout the year

An NBA team plays roughly 41 regular-season home games a year. Around 30%–40% of those, or 12–16 games, fall on weekends. Crucially, these games coincide with the short-term rental low season from October to April of the following year, making them especially important for Seattle owners.

Add playoffs, preseason games and fan events, and Seattle would regularly welcome large numbers of visiting fans, journalists, broadcast crews and business travelers.

Will they stay in hotels? Of course. But more people, especially young fans and couples, prefer a conveniently located, thoughtfully designed short-term rental where they can immerse themselves in the basketball experience, spending 2–3 nights over the weekend and exploring Seattle as well.

These weekend bookings therefore follow a very regular pattern:

• Check in on Friday evening → Check out on Sunday

• Mainly couples and groups of friends

• Less concerned about small price differences, with an emphasis on location and convenience

• Usually booked in advance, with low cancellation rates

Once a new team arrives, it would effectively add many such peak-occupancy dates to the short-term rental market.

02 | Playoffs and All-Star events: A new source of demand for short-term rental hosts

Imagine Seattle not only successfully forming a team, but also making the playoffs or even winning the right to host All-Star Weekend. The city’s profile would rise dramatically.

At that point, searches and bookings could surge not only Downtown but also around Green Lake, Beacon Hill and even Shoreline. Accommodation for these festival-like sports events is generally booked 1–2 months in advance, with prices rising by multiples.

For owners, this is more than a short-lived booking surge. It is an opportunity to develop a branded rental operation.

03 | Look beyond furnishing and rethink the event economy

When people hear the NBA may return, their first reaction is, “Should I create a basketball-themed rental?” You can, but it is not essential.

Visitors are coming to watch games in person, not to admire the jerseys and posters in your house.

What really matters is whether, during their brief 2–3 days in Seattle, you can make them feel their accommodation is convenient, good value, comfortable and trouble-free.

Here is what you should do instead:

• Improve location descriptions: For example, “walk to the arena,” “5 minutes from the light rail,” or “plenty of restaurants and bars nearby.”
• Offer a smooth check-in experience: Games may finish late, making nighttime self-check-in particularly important.
• Strengthen cleaning and sound insulation so guests can rest well after games.

• Use flexible pricing: Set different rates for game days, weekends and weekdays to maximize revenue.

Closing thoughts

The NBA’s return to Seattle would mean more than a handful of games. It would change the city’s rhythm regularly and persistently. Seattle’s short-term rental market would no longer rely only on summers, holidays and tourism seasons, but on a distinctive city identity.

As an owner, recognizing this change and preparing your property in advance could help you capture the short-term rental opportunity.

If the Sonics really return, will you be ready to welcome guests every game weekend?

If you:

Hope to increase rental income through short-term rentals;

Cannot spare a great deal of time to handle the small details;

Occasionally need to use the home yourself, making it unsuitable to empty out the furniture for a long-term rental;

Then:

Snowball Rentals’ management team is your best choice.

From pre-launch vacation-rental styling, big-data analysis and online marketing to tenant screening, dynamic pricing, customer service and sales, cleaning and repairs, Snowball Rentals provides everything as one complete service for your home.

This Week’s Booking Results

Through long-standing relationships with insurers, assignment companies and technology companies, Snowball Rentals rents homes for medium- and long-term durations at short-term rates, then gives owners a rebate of 5% in management fees to maximize their income.

As April arrives and cherry blossoms begin to bloom, Seattle’s short-term rental low season is finally coming to an end!

Short-term rentals in peak season; mid-term rentals in low season.

Looking back at earlier large bookings, this strategy has achieved some results, allowing us to retain confidence even in a cold winter!

Although peak season has arrived, we still cannot let our guard down. Policies and broader conditions are full of changes and challenges. Making steady progress will remain the main theme going forward.

The detached Seattle home below can be found on Redfin, where its estimated long-term monthly rent is about $1,962.

With the owner’s trust and support, we carefully furnished the home and immediately began short-term rental operations. Fortunately, because the home’s condition and location are both good, short- and mid-term bookings have continued to come in.

As shown in the booking screenshot below, a guest had recently booked this home from June 7 to September 6, a total of 91 nights, at an average monthly rent of $10,312.

In summary, after Snowball Rentals began operating this property, its monthly rental income increased from $1,962 to $10,312, an increase as high as fivefold.

For homeowners, combining short- and mid-term rentals in this way can earn more in peak season and help them get through low season smoothly. Even if the low-season rental figures look less dramatic, they still outperform long-term rentals and give homeowners a strong sense of financial security.

More importantly, the owner does not have to worry about maintenance or cleaning. When something needs to be discussed with guests, we also help with communication and oversight.

Here, we again thank the owner for placing trust in the Snowball Rentals team!

After nearly two years of Airbnb’s downturn, we at Snowball Rentals hope to help owners make steady progress in low season, navigate the challenges safely and lay a better foundation for next year’s peak season.

Once again, heartfelt thanks to our homeowners for their trust and support. Whether the market is strong or weak, Snowball Rentals will stand with you and look for ways to increase your income!

Some homeowners will surely ask the hard question: was a large booking like this just a stroke of luck? What if the home does not rent? A long-term rental is more stable—even earning less is better than earning nothing!

Our answer is: the outcome depends on what we do.

Vacation-Rental Styling

Competition on Airbnb is becoming increasingly intense. The days of piecing together secondhand furniture, taking phone photos and earning easy money on Airbnb are over. Airbnb hosts have moved toward professional operations.

Careful design and furnishing before launch, followed by professional short-term rental operations, will be the only choice for a rental that continues to generate high income.

Here is another of Snowball Rentals’ core services: vacation-rental styling!

Here is what the detached home described above looks like after our careful furnishing:

When choosing a short-term rental on Airbnb, would this home’s appearance attract you?

If you would also like to make your home more attractive and earn more rent, please contact us at any time!

We also share practical vacation-rental styling plans and creative ideas to help you achieve more with less spending and keep rental income growing!

Referral Rewards

If you are already a Snowball Rentals homeowner, you receive a US$500 referral fee for each referral.

If you are not yet a Snowball Rentals homeowner, you receive a US$250 shopping voucher for each referral.

Snowball Rentals Management

1. Full service — We provide pre-launch rental design, furniture procurement, furnishing, professional photography, online marketing, copywriting, tenant service and sales, cleaning, supply purchasing and property repairs. You only need to be a hands-off owner; we handle the rest.

2. Multi-platform promotion — We promote the home on Airbnb, VRBO, HomeAway and other mainstream platforms for maximum exposure.

3. Dynamic pricing — Using big data, we adjust prices every day according to seasonal demand, holidays, last-minute vacancy offers, weekends and local activities, maximizing the owner’s income.

4. Income-improvement SOP — We follow 44 secrets for maximizing short-term rental income, optimizing each property’s online marketing, on-site operations and other aspects to work toward maximum income.

5. Flexible owner stays — Owners can flexibly choose when to stay themselves. This is especially suitable for owners with multiple residences around the world.

6. Terminate at any time — Management does not require an annual commitment. The owner can end the agreement with one month’s advance notice.

7. Corporate housing — In addition to nightly rentals, we work with insurers and assignment companies to provide executives with hotel-style managed accommodation for stays 30 days or more.

8. Transparent fees — For rentals 30 days or more, we charge 15% of accommodation revenue. For nightly rentals 30 days or less, we charge 20% of accommodation revenue.