Living in Colorado

Until now, there has been strict guidelines on where Airbnbs are allowed in Denver, and under which circumstances. A new pilot program is working to make Airbnb more accessible.

The standard one bedroom at Archer Tower Apartments in Capitol Hill rents for $1,440 a month, unless tenants plan on listing their unit on Airbnb.

Then they get a discount, and get to run a little side-hustle with their landlord’s blessing.

Commit to listing your one bedroom on Airbnb for 10 days a year, the ad says, and your monthly rent becomes $1,380. Commit to 60 days, and rent drops to $1,075, a 25 percent cut.

Tenants in Pillow buildings can sign a lease addendum that authorizes short-term rentals. In return, the landlord has the ability to track and monitor the short-term rental activity, and receives a percentage of the earnings from the Airbnb reservations.

In a blog post, Pillow CEO said the building is part of the pilot program, and that Archer Tower gets 10 percent of all profit from short-term rentals.

The blog post claims Archer Tower “has been able to produce 20% more applications since implementing this amenity, as well as capture premium rents 4-7 percent higher than current market rents.”

With Pillow, Archer Tower appears to have found a way to earn more from Airbnb while still complying with the City of Denver’s new short-term rental regulations.

Last summer Denver City Council passed a bill that limited short-term rentals to “primary residences,” meaning Archer Tower itself can’t list its units on Airbnb. With Pillow, tenants are responsible for listing their unit.

Pillow isn’t the only entity looking to smooth over the relationship between Airbnb and landlords: Airbnb itself is making an effort. In 2016, the company introduced its “Friendly Buildings Program,” which also lets property owners get a cut of Airbnb earnings on their property.

Read more about Airbnb accessibility on Business Den.

This means that we'll probably seeing a large increase in Airbnb availability in Denver if this pilot program takes off, benefiting all parties.