Home sharing site Airbnb expects to see its largest-ever surge of guests to Milwaukee for university commencement ceremonies this weekend.
Both Marquette University and University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee will host their graduations on Sunday.
UWM will host two ceremonies, at 9 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. Sunday at UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena.
Marquette’s main commencement will take place at Fiserv Forum Sunday. Additional ceremonies for individual programs will be held throughout the weekend on campus and at Miller High Life Theatre, 1451 Renaissance Place, Pilot House at Discovery World, Harley-Davidson Museum, Pabst Theatre, The Pfister Hotel and Milwaukee Area Technical College.
Airbnb said 1,650 guests will stay with Milwaukee hosts this weekend, bringing in more than $153,000 for those renting all or a portion of their homes to visitors.
“Big university events have long been known to spur increased occupancy among hotels,” Airbnb said in its report. “Home sharing has allowed cities like Milwaukee to utilize pre-existing resources – people’s homes – to expand lodging capacity and retain as many visitors as possible.”
Airbnb launched in Milwaukee in 2008. In 2018, Milwaukee had 71,000 guest arrivals using the service, up from 40,600 in 2017.
