KCBA - Monterey, Salinas, Santa Cruz - News Weather-Local Industries Prepped and Pumped for U.S. Open Week
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MONTEREY PENINSULA, Calif.- "Certainly a lot of people are interested in renting their homes for the U.S. Open," said Jan Leasure of Monterey Bay Property Management.
But are there people willing to take them up on their offers?
"People are still snapping them up at the last minute, not at big prices, the prices are soft, people don't want to pay much," said Leasure.
Just this week things have picked up dramatically for the property management company, two-thirds of their homes are rented, but they still aren't sold out. Leasure says that's in part to the saturation of do-it-yourselfers on Craigslist.
"They're getting an excellent deal compared to what they got in 2000," said Leasure.
"People are coming into town with golf on their minds so they want to get their golfing fix, Pebble is probably out of the question," said Director of Instruction for Laguna Seca Brad Cursio.
So courses like Laguna Seca Golf Ranch are more than willing to accommodate golf enthusiasts, "We've been looking forward to it that's for sure. We can definitely use the business, everyone can and it's a great opportunity to take advantage of that, " said Cursio.
And so is Monterey Bay Property Management, "I saw four contracts on one of my employees desks today so I know the phones are ringing," said Leasure.
Monterey Airport has also worked on a contingency plan for the in flux of players and spectators flying in.
Rental cars companies have brought in dozens of extra cars from other cities; United and U.S. Airways have added flights and will use bigger planes that hold more passengers.
Private jet companies like Del Monte Aviation say their reservations are way up for private jets and that they've added temporary staff to accomodate players and elite fans.
Although there are not hard numbers on how much extra profit will fly in to the peninsula, the airport is happy to get what they can.
