The 2004 Democratic National Convention will be held at the FleetCenter in Boston in July. Some enterprising local homeowners are hoping to rent their properties to convention goers in the weeks before and during the convention.
When thousands of visitors flock to Boston in July for the 2004 Democratic National Convention, many of them will be staying in hotels in and around the Hub.
But some of them will be seeking other accommodations, and there are a number of residents who appear willing to welcome them into their own homes.
Anticipating the arrival of hundreds of conventioneers who will be unable to find a hotel room to meet their needs or simply want an alternative place to stay, some Boston-area homeowners have already started making preparations to rent out their homes and a few real estate companies are gearing up to help them.
A Web site created to provide information about the convention features dozens of listings of condominiums, apartments and single-family homes that are available for anywhere from $3,500 for a week before the convention to as much as $45,000 for a month’s stay.
“We have had people contact us for availability and clients approach us” about renting their homes, said Toni Gilardi, principal of Landmark Realty in Boston, which handles sales and rentals in the city’s North End neighborhood, Waterfront and Financial District.
Gilardi said her company has received enough inquiries that she met with her staff last week and decided to start offering their services to property owners who are interested in providing short-term rentals during the convention. Once her company secures enough listings, it will start advertising them.
But Doug Melcher, president of Paragon Properties in Boston, said while he has had “over a hundred” inquiries from homeowners seeking to rent their homes, he has yet to hear from someone who is interested in a temporary rental.
“I haven’t had a single inquiry from someone looking for a place during the convention,” said Melcher.
Melcher said his company will not be handling short-term rentals during the convention because he doesn’t think there will be enough demand. “We don’t have as big a shortage of hotel rooms as some people think,” he said. “There’s going to a lot of quality hotel rooms available.”
Landmark Realty, however, sees an opportunity to help property owners, particularly those with multiple units who have had to deal with vacancies in recent months.
The company will manage the rental process, offering clients a checklist of things to do to get ready, including storing their valuables in a locked closet and placing a long-distance block on their telephones. The company will also make sure a cleaning service is sent to the home before and after the rental.
For its services, Gilardi’s company will collect a percentage of the weekly rent. Rents will vary, depending on the unit size and condition.
The idea may be more appealing to landlords who have empty units rather than homeowners who will have to temporarily move out and secure their valuables, explained Gilardi.
“Our rental market isn’t what it used to be,” said Gilardi. “We have some people who have vacancies. If their unit is vacant, I don’t think [landlords] would be opposed to quickly furnishing their apartments and renting them out.”
Unlike Gilardi, Lawrence Fisch, president of Boston’s Preferred Properties, has decided not to pursue such rentals even though he said he has received at least four phone calls from homeowners seeking to rent their property.
Fisch said he opted not to market rentals because homeowners would have been relying on his company to screen prospective renters and doing so would have been difficult because most would be out-of-town guests. He also said that it would be tough to monitor how many people stay in the home once a lease is signed, and homeowners would also have to deal with potential property damage.
“There’s too much potential for abuse,” said Fisch. “They’re [Boston homeowners] thinking ‘Wow, I can make a lot of money’ Â… but many of them don’t realize it can be risky.”
Fisch said he has referred callers to www.2004dnc.com, a Boston-based advertising portal operated by Boston Web Hosts, which is devoted exclusively to the convention. The non-partisan site bills itself as the 2004 Democratic Convention Guide but has no affiliation to the 2004 Democratic National Convention Committee or the Boston 2004 Host Committee.
The site features information about the convention, local politics and the presidential campaign. It also includes a link, Beacon Hill for Rent, which provides rental listings in various Boston neighborhoods, Cambridge, Winthrop and suburbs like Weston.
One listing, posted by a homeowner, described a three-bedroom, single-family home located in “a quiet neighborhood of Boston just minutes away from downtown via MBTA commuter rail service.” The homeowner is seeking $8,000 for the week of the convention.
Another property, a three-bedroom home in Weston with central air conditioning, fully stocked bar, full gym and an assortment of high-tech equipment, was available for $25,000 from July 24 through July 31 or $45,000 for July 17 through Aug. 15. Renters could also use the house from July 17 to July 24 or July 31 to Aug. 7 for $7,500.
A homeowner in Chelsea, who is advertising a two-bedroom waterfront condo for $8,500 during the week of the convention, is even offering use of his car for $500 extra.
‘Thousands of Calls’
Such advertisements are similar to those that appeared back in 1999 when the Ryder Cup golf tournament came to Brookline. Back then, luxury homes along the golf course were renting for hundreds of thousands of dollars, and homeowners in Brookline and surrounding neighborhoods – eager to make some quick money – made their modest ranches available for rent.
Rumors circulated at the time that basketball great Michael Jordan had paid $650,000 for a one-week rental in Brookline. But the Boston Herald later reported that Jordan only paid $30,000 for a mansion on the second hole.
Melcher, of Paragon Properties, also benefited somewhat from the Ryder Cup. His company rented a multimillion-dollar executive home abutting the golf course to four couples for $55,000 for a nine-day stay. The rental included a driver and car provided by the real estate company.
However, Melcher said a lot of “hype” was generated over how much money could be made, but in reality very little demand for rentals materialized during the golf tournament.
“We had to field thousands of calls from homeowners who wanted to rent their homes,” said Melcher, who noted that his office received phone calls from homeowners on the North Shore and even as far away as Wareham.
In fact, Melcher said one of the agents in his company took two months off from regular business just to pursue rental listings for the Ryder Cup, deal with the phone calls and handle the process.
In the end, however, the actual rentals were too few to justify the time and effort spent on such short-term arrangements.
For its part, the 2004 Democratic National Convention Committee said it does not provide a list of short-term rentals to its delegates or other officials attending in July.
“We have our own housing process in place,” said Lina Garcia, press secretary for the committee. “Most delegates Â… are familiar with the system and they contact us directly.”
Garcia said each delegation was given a list of five hotel choices. The delegates were given a chance to visit the hotels and selected their top choices. Then, based on the delegation size and availability, delegates are placed accordingly.
A total of 17,000 hotel rooms have been reserved for delegates, alternates, party officials and activists. Most of the delegate hotels are within walking distance of the FleetCenter, where the bulk of the convention activities will be held, with the farthest hotel about three miles away, according to the committee. In addition, some college dorm rooms have been reserved for a few delegations, youth groups and volunteers.
Each delegation begins the day with a breakfast at their hotel to preview the day’s activities, so for many participants it’s easier to stay at the hotel, explained Garcia.
Despite that, Gilardi, of Landmark Realty, sees an opportunity to help longtime clients who have endured some serious losses because of the softening rental market. “I think if this helps, then we’re willing to do whatever we need to [do] to help them,” said Gilardi.
