SOUTH BEND/ELKHART, Ind. (WNDU) - Over the weekend, the cities of South Bend and Elkhart saw a huge number of people in the area.According to data analysis company AirDNA, there was a huge spike in the number of visitors.On average, about 480 reservations were made for short-term rental units in the region on Airbnb and Vrbo in August.But this past Saturday, country singer-songwriter Zach Bryan performed at Notre Dame Stadium while crowds of people in Elkhart attended a free outdoor concert featuring Kool & the Gang ...
SOUTH BEND/ELKHART, Ind. (WNDU) - Over the weekend, the cities of South Bend and Elkhart saw a huge number of people in the area.
According to data analysis company AirDNA, there was a huge spike in the number of visitors.
On average, about 480 reservations were made for short-term rental units in the region on Airbnb and Vrbo in August.
But this past Saturday, country singer-songwriter Zach Bryan performed at Notre Dame Stadium while crowds of people in Elkhart attended a free outdoor concert featuring Kool & the Gang as well as The Commodores.
And for that night alone, the data shows more than 950 reservations were made in the area, which is more than twice the average number.
“So, the city is almost full. The entire area, I should say, it’s not just the city of South Bend, but it also includes Elkhart and the surrounding area. And it is almost entirely full at 94% with an average rate of $657.18. So, really significant performance gains,” says Bram Gallagher, director of economics and forecasting for AirDNA.
The Notre Dame football team is hosting its first home game of the season this weekend. As of Monday, our area has about 1,300 reservations for their short-term rental units.
Jeff Jarnecke, the executive director of Visit South Bend Mishawaka, says every Notre Dame football game brings about $36 million to the local economy impact to our region.
Jarnecke adds the city and county governments have been working on various projects to keep people in the area after the game.
“Those improvements that you see at Ironworks Plaza, to Howard Park, that came online again a few years ago to Seitz Park that was just dedicated here about a month or so ago, they’re just so important to our community that it allows us to differentiate from our competition in terms of those amenities and offerings that we can give to visitors,” Jarnecke says.
Meanwhile, an Elkhart County official tells WNDU 16 News Now that Hotel Elkhart was fully booked last weekend, showing our area is more becoming the place to be for a lot of visitors.