Tag: booking

Three years from now, millions of tourists will pour into L.A. for the 2028 Olympics. For most of them, a hotel room or Airbnb will suffice.

Some require a more extravagant stay.

Ten bedrooms. Twenty bathrooms. A private movie theater and infinity pool overlooking the city. A battalion of chefs, butlers and drivers catering to the smallest of whims.

The Earth’s elite — not just the athletes, but the royals, oligarchs and uber-wealthy families coming to watch them — won’t be here for three summers. And the market for mega-mansion rentals is already getting competitive.

“We’re getting five to 10 inquiries per week,” said Hank Stark, founder of ultra-luxury vacation rental company LuxJB. “There are only so many homes of this size in L.A., and people want to secure their spot as early as possible.”

LuxJB owns 14 mansions around L.A., including in Beverly Hills, the Hollywood Hills and West Hollywood. Three of them have already been secured for the Olympics — not just for the last two weeks of July while the Games are taking place, but for most of the year.

“If you’re an Olympic federation from a specific country, you’ll be here all year training athletes before the Games begin,” Stark said. “If you’re a major sports brand, you’ll want a presence in L.A. before and after July.”

The crown jewel of LuxJB’s collection is a 39,000-square-foot behemoth complete with nine bedrooms, four kitchens, a gym, spa, movie theater, pickleball court, basketball court and a team of three maids. A client just rented it out from January to August 2028 for $300,000 per month.

That’s $2.4 million total. Pre-paid.

It’s an eye-popping price, but there’s a bit of savings to be found since LuxJB covers utilities. They run about $25,000 per month once you factor in heating the pool.

The home is on the pricier end of LuxJB’s offerings, which start at $1,900 per night for smaller five-bedroom villas and $150,000 per month for larger mansions.

The backyard and pool of a LuxJB mansion.

(Carlin Stiehl / Los Angeles Times)

Stark said the rentals make sense for many. For example, a superstar athlete who travels with an entourage and wants some privacy.

“You can’t put [Cristiano] Ronaldo in a hotel room surrounded by strangers. He’s the most valuable player in the world,” Stark said. “Plus, our place has a $6,000 zero-gravity massage chair.”

LuxJB is currently fielding interest from two Olympic committees looking for a large enough place to hold news conferences and host media outlets, as well as U.S. companies wanting to book houses for their top brass.

The mansion’s downstairs gaming room.

(Carlin Stiehl / Los Angeles Times)

Stark said it’s common for companies to rent their mansions for months at a time, and far in advance. Studios rent them for red carpet season during the fall and spring to host celebrities nominated for Emmys, Grammys and Oscars. Nine of LuxJB’s 14 homes are already booked for next summer, when the 2026 World Cup brings a handful of major matches to L.A.

But bookings three years out?

“It’s rare,” Stark said. “But rentals are disappearing, especially after the [January] fires, when so many were leased to house victims long-term. So I don’t think demand will slow down any time soon.”

The main reason why the market isn’t hotter is because there aren’t that many rooms or houses available yet. Most hotels don’t accept reservations more than a year in advance, and rental companies such as Airbnb and VRBO typically don’t accept bookings more than two years out.

There’s a reason for such policies: A lot can change in three years. Homeowners can sell their homes, take them off the market, or die.

“There are only so many homes of this size in L.A., and people want to secure their spot as early as possible,” Stark said.

(Carlin Stiehl / Los Angeles Times)

Stark doesn’t have to worry about major changes, since LuxJB owns its homes. But other luxury rental companies, such as the Nightfall Group, rent out homes on behalf of owners, so three years out can be a bit too soon for some.

That hasn’t stopped the calls from coming, though.

Nightfall founder Mokhtar Jabli said he has received a steady stream of inquiries since the company created a 2028 Olympics landing page on its site highlighting available rentals. They’ve already booked one: a 10,000-square-foot home with six bedrooms, 10 bathrooms, a movie theater and infinity pool in the Hollywood Hills.

For the month of July 2028, the guest paid $160,000.

“That house rents for around $110,000 during a typical year, but they paid a premium to book it so far in advance,” Jabli said.

It came from a longtime client who knew which house they wanted and locked it in before it was blocked by a long-term lease. The owner typically doesn’t take bookings so far out but was willing to make an exception — as long as the guest was willing to pay more.

Jabli said prices for Olympic bookings are around 40% higher than usual, but he expects that number will go up as the Games get closer.

Nightfall has rentals in luxury markets across the globe, and around 100 in Los Angeles. Its homes typically start at $50,000 per month, but the company also offers concierge services, so the house is only the start. Jabli said some clients pay $500,000 per month for swanky add-ons such as private jets, yacht rentals, security guards, drivers, chefs and housekeepers.

The company regularly hosts international athletes: soccer stars Ibrahima Konate from France and Amine Adli from Morocco, most recently. Jabli expects wealthy Olympic athletes in more lucrative sports, such as basketball or soccer, to book homes to share with their families rather than staying in the Olympic Village on UCLA’s campus.

One of the bathrooms in a LuxJB mansion.

(Carlin Stiehl / Los Angeles Times)

Another factor in the Olympic rental market is Southern California’s uneven, sporadic enforcement of short-term rental regulations. Rules change from year to year and city to city, and a legal booking today could be outlawed by 2028.

For example, on Aug. 5, Beverly Hills banned short-term rentals entirely, requiring initial leases to be at least 12 months. Los Angeles beefed up its Home-Sharing Ordinance in March, calling for increased fines and more staff to monitor violations. But the city’s scaled-back budget has put many of those enforcement plans on pause.

It’s unclear whether exceptions will be made for the Olympics, when millions of visitors will descend on a region already starved for housing.

Either way, the glut of deep-pocketed tourists should serve as a shot in the arm to a luxury market that has been waning since the COVID-19 pandemic. Homes will rent for thousands per day. Millions per year.

“L.A. is going through a crisis, both in the high-end luxury rental business and beyond,” Jabli said. “Hopefully, 2028 brings it back to the L.A. we know.”