Key facts
- Boulder has approved more than 1,300 short-term rentals since opening the licensing process, receiving about 40 applications weekly.
- Boulder officials estimated the city needed about 1,500 new short-term rentals to accommodate Sundance visitors.
- A decade-old Boulder ordinance barred investors and absentee owners from operating full-time Airbnbs or Vrbos.
- Visit Boulder, the local tourism organization, recommends hosts charge no more than $700 per night for a two-bedroom home.
- Property manager Ross Bowdey said owners of a downtown three-bedroom condo rejected his suggested $2,500 nightly rate as too low.
- Sundance typically draws about 100,000 people over 11 days, a scale Boulder has not hosted before.
Boulder approved more than 1,300 short-term rental licenses after opening its application process to practically anyone for the Sundance Film Festival's Colorado debut in January, according to Business Insider. The city receives about 40 more applications each week, and officials had estimated Boulder needed roughly 1,500 new short-term rentals to accommodate festival visitors.
The licensing push followed Sundance's decision to leave its longtime home of Park City, Utah. The Sundance Institute invited other cities to bid as the Park City contract neared its 2026 expiration date, and Boulder offered tens of millions of dollars in incentives before the two sides sealed the agreement in spring 2025.
A decade-old Boulder ordinance had barred investors and absentee owners from operating full-time Airbnbs or Vrbos, leaving the city with fewer than 700 short-term rentals and nearly 3,000 hotel rooms. Sundance typically draws about 100,000 people over 11 days, a scale Boulder has not hosted.
Ross Bowdey, director of Airbnb and mid-term rentals at Fox Property Management, said owners of a downtown three-bedroom condo rejected his proposed $2,500 nightly rate as too low. Visit Boulder recommends hosts charge no more than $700 per night for a two-bedroom home. Real estate agent Juli Kovats said hosts should not expect to fund their retirement on the festival's first year.