Feel at “home” away from home at your next PGA event

The Olympics are only a few days away and Vangroovy is buzzing! Okay, they have to truck snow to Cypress Mountain for the snowboarders (it’s been so warm, there’s no snow up there), but other than that, things are moving along pretty smoothly.

Hmmm… maybe not so smoothly for some folks who thought they would be floating pretty on the Norwegian Star during the Games – a cruise ship that was going to be a floating hotel for spectators.

Looks like that ship has sunk under economic hardship. Yikes! Time for the lifeboats for the guests who signed up to stay on board!

Well, thankfully, I discovered a solution which could help a few of these stranded spectators – SportsEventRental.com.

I learned about this company about a week ago. They are listed on Mike Perez’s website. Apparently one of their founders, Todd Brenneman designed Mike’s new site, which is looking pretty cool. Small world, eh?

When I visited Sports Event Rental, I was impressed to see that they are offering homes for rent in Vancouver during the Olympics. When I dug a little deeper, I discovered they also rent homes, condos, apts and even yachts at tons of sporting events throughout the year, including the entire PGA Tour (you wouldn’t expect me to write a non-golfing post, now, would you? :)).

To test it out, I decided to check out the Accenture Match Play Championship at The Ritz-Carlton Golf Club, Dove Mountain in Marana, Arizona in February. Just for fun, I looked at the price of a single room at The Ritz during the event – the cheapest was 559.00 (USD) per night. Not fun! Then I took at look at what Sports Event Rental could offer. There were more than a dozen homes listed in the area; one 4 bedroom house was 10-15 minutes from the event and was renting out at only $150 per night! No, that’s more like it!

I wanted to learn more about this company, so, as I am known to do, I talked to one of the founders (Robert (Bob) Hayes) by phone to get the skinny on how it all works. Check out his interview…

Well, I am very happy to announce that after our chat, Bob Hayes and his team got together and added the LPGA majors to their list of events, with plans to add more LPGA events. Cool, don’t you think? Ask and ye shall receive, as they say.

For you home owners looking to rent out your place, you should check their rates. From what I can tell, they are much more affordable and flexible than VRBO (about $300 cheaper) and they don’t charge commissions that VRBO is rumored to be adding to their fees.

I know I’m going to check out SportsEventRental.com the next time I plan a trip to a golf event. Actually, the Senior Men’s US Open is at Sahalee in July. Hey, Bob! Can you put that event on your site too! I’ll be there.

And what about the 2010 U.S. Amateur at Chambers Bay in August? I’m thinking of going there as well!

Keep them coming guys! I think you’ve got a winner!

Golfgal