Rent Like a Champion

What Rent Like a Champion does

Rent Like a Champion is a privately held, two-sided online marketplace founded in 2005 and headquartered in South Bend, Indiana, that connects travelers seeking short-term accommodations near major sporting events with homeowners in those markets. The company's core product is the booking of private home rentals within walking distance of college football stadiums, with the Notre Dame (South Bend) market as its flagship; the platform has since expanded coverage to over 100 college towns and sports destinations across the United States and selectively into Canada, including coverage of golf tournaments (PGA, Ryder Cup, Presidents Cup), racing events, the FIFA World Cup, beach volleyball championships, and youth sports tournaments.

The platform is built around a location- and event-based search system with extensive synonym and alias coverage for each college town (e.g., team names, neighboring municipalities, venue-specific terms), which functions as its primary technical differentiator. Products and services are organized into Football Weekends, Golf Tournaments, and Racing Events as core offerings, plus a "List Your Home" module that supplies the homeowner side of the marketplace. Distribution is direct-to-consumer via the company's website, supported by a dedicated phone line (855.BIG.GAME), organic/SEO search, and earned media including a Shark Tank television appearance and Inc. 5000 recognition.

The business operates on a transaction-fee revenue model, charging homeowners a commission on bookings facilitated through the platform, with specific rates not publicly disclosed. Customer segments are primarily sports event travelers (families and groups attending college football games, golf tournaments, racing events, and youth sports tournaments) on the demand side, and college town homeowners seeking to monetize properties during high-demand weekends on the supply side. The company is bootstrapped with 1-10 employees and expanded its footprint in April 2026 through the acquisition of CollegeWeekends, extending reach into youth sports destinations.

Name

Rent Like a Champion

Legal name

Rent Like a Champion

Website

https://RentLikeAChampion.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2005

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Rent Like a Champion is a privately held two-sided online marketplace, founded in 2005 in South Bend, Indiana, that connects sports event travelers with homeowners offering private short-term rentals near college football stadiums and other sporting venues across 100+ US destinations.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Sports Event Vacation Rentals

NAICS

Other Consumer Goods Rental (53228)

SIC

Hotels, Rooming Houses, Camps & Other Lodging Places (7000)

akta.pro primary industry

Local/Regional Vacation Rental Marketplaces (Geo-Focused Platforms) (THAMALAL)

akta.pro secondary industries

Whole-Home Rentals (Houses, Villas, Cabins) (THAGANAA), Large Group & Event-Friendly Homes (THAMAAAM)

Keywords

• Vacation rental marketplace
• College football rentals
• Sports event accommodations
• Short-term home rentals
• Event weekend lodging

Headquarters

HQ city

South Bend

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Short-term Rental Transaction Fees: Platform charges homeowners a fee for listing and facilitating bookings. Customers pay for their rental through the platform using major credit cards, with the company retaining a transaction fee from each booking.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Rent Like a Champion operates an online marketplace that connects property owners with sports fans and travelers seeking short-term private home rentals near college football stadiums, golf tournaments, and racing events. Travelers book homes through the company's website by selecting an event location, while homeowners list their properties via a dedicated portal and pay the platform a transaction fee per booking. The platform covers 100+ college towns and sports destinations across the United States.

Product overview

Rent Like a Champion is a vacation rental platform that specializes in providing private home rentals near college football stadiums and sports events. The core offering consists of three main rental categories—Football Weekends, Golf Tournaments, and Racing Events—all enabling users to rent private homes near venues for major sporting events. The platform also includes a homeowner listing service for property owners to list their homes. The company recently expanded through the acquisition of CollegeWeekends to grow its presence in college town markets and youth sports destinations.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Football Weekends Private home rental service for college football game weekends, allowing fans to stay in homes near stadiums and walk to the game across 100+ college football destinations.
• Golf Tournaments Vacation rental service for professional golf tournaments, offering homes near golf courses for professional golfers and fans planning golf vacations.
• Racing Events Home rental service near racetracks for race weekend stays, enabling fans to fully experience race weekend activities.
• List Your Home Homeowner listing service that allows property owners to list their homes on the platform for sports event rentals during high-demand weekends.

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• CollegeWeekendscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 21 April 2026Rent Like A Champion acquired CollegeWeekends to expand its national footprint in college town markets and youth sports destinations. This acquisition strengthens the company's market position in the college event rental space.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Airbnb: Largest global vacation rental marketplace. Comparable to Rent Like a Champion as the dominant supply-side platform for short-term home rentals, including college towns and event destinations, though Airbnb is a broad generalist rather than a sports-event specialist.
• Vrbo: Major vacation rental marketplace (owned by Expedia Group) focused on whole-home rentals. Directly comparable to Rent Like a Champion's inventory type (private homes) and serves the same college-town and sports-event travelers, but at much larger scale.
• Tripadvisor: Major travel meta-search and booking platform. Comparable as a traffic and discovery channel for vacation rentals, including event destinations, though Tripadvisor is far broader and serves multiple travel categories.
• Booking.com: Global lodging and vacation rental booking platform. Comparable as a competing channel for whole-home STR bookings, including college town and event travel, with substantially larger distribution and marketing budgets.

Direct peers

• Vacasa: Vacation rental management and marketplace company with full-service property management for whole-home rentals. Comparable as a managed-inventory alternative in event-heavy destinations, though Vacasa operates a vertically integrated model rather than a pure marketplace.
• Evolve: Vacation rental management company with a lighter-touch, fee-based model for homeowners. Comparable to Rent Like a Champion in that both aggregate third-party homeowner supply for short-term rentals, though Evolve is broader and not sports-specialized.
• Sonder: Tech-enabled operator of short-term rental apartments and boutique accommodations. Comparable in providing apartment-style and home-style stays in event markets, though Sonder targets urban business and leisure travelers rather than college sports event fans.
• CollegeWeekends: College town rental marketplace now owned by Rent Like a Champion following the April 2026 acquisition. Directly comparable as a peer in the same niche (college football/event home rentals), now consolidated under the subject company's platform.

Emerging players

• Kasa: Tech-driven short-term rental operator with professionally managed apartments and homes. Comparable in offering reliable, hotel-grade short-term stays in event destinations, though Kasa focuses on urban multifamily rather than single-family event homes.

Others

• Hometowne Studios by Red Roof: Extended-stay hotel brand catering to budget-conscious travelers in secondary markets. Comparable as a competing accommodation option for event-driven travelers in college towns, though it offers traditional rooms rather than whole-home rentals.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/RentLikeAChamp
• Facebookfacebook.com/RentLikeAChampion
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/rent-like-a-champion

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A1 record

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Rent Like a Champion