SHEBOYGAN COUNTY, Wis. (NBC 26) -- The Ryder Cup at Whistling Straits is kicking off in Sheboygan County on September 21st and will bring thousands of tourists to town for at least four days. With the golf tournament arriving, tourists venturing from across the globe will be visiting Sheboygan County to check out some of the best golfers in the world in action, and many will be staying at rental properties.
The Ryder Cup is expected to bring 10,000 tourists a day to Sheboygan County and homeowners across the region are well aware of the opportunity to rent out their homes. Jim Brigham, of Kohler, Wisconsin recently decided to list his home on the home rental website Vrbo.
"Well, I've been thinking about it for a number of months. Obviously, it's a little scary when you think about renting out your primary residence to someone else from out of town. Number one was, where are we going to go when we rent out our home?"
Despite the potential scare, Brigham decided to put his home on the market for the week of the Ryder Cup
"It could be very profitable for us if it works out," says Brigham.
Brigham is attempting to rent his home out for $1,700 a night. It's a price point that is in the middle of the road when comparing one-bedroom home rates, to homes with the capacity to sleep upwards of a dozen people.
"Looking at other properties, before we listed ours, we were kind of shocked at how much people were asking for. I really didn't think it would be as high as it has been."
This is a first for Brigham, but others in Sheboygan County find it quite lucrative renting their homes to others year-round in the Kohler area. Anders Larson, from the city of Sheboygan, has rented out a property of his for 7 years near Whispering Straits. He is also hoping to rent out his property for the 4-day stretch in late September but says he stays busy regardless.
"Just non-stop. I just checked one out this morning and we have a check-in tomorrow. So, it's back-to-back all summer."
Larson has a three-bedroom home he's trying to rent out for the golf tournament. For the week of rentals, he estimates he could make about $10,000 or maybe a bit less. He says it's significantly less profitable than when the rental made him $17,000 in four days back in September of 2019. Larson believes the reason he will likely make less this year is that right now there are too many sellers in the market, homeowners capitalizing on a unique opportunity that has surprised many.
"It's on fire. Everybody jumped on this Ryder Cup bandwagon and now it's oversaturated. But if I get it booked great, if I don't, I'll be in my boat watching from Lake Michigan every day down there," says Larsen who anticipates watching the pros from the water when they come to town.
