While an estimated 200,000 people are headed into Oakmont for the U.S. Open, many Oakmont residents are headed out.
With few hotel options in Oakmont, renting out homes near Oakmont Country Club is big business.
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Homeowners like Linda Culleiton, who live within walking distance to the course, find themselves sitting on some of the hottest properties in the region.
“Every day you wake up and you’re happy here,” said Culleiton.
She and her husband put their hearts into renovating their Oakmont home for retirement.
Friends of theirs told them they could be sitting on a golf goldmine near what will be the center of the golf world in just three weeks.
“At first I thought no, I would never do that,” she said. “Then, when it got closer, I thought I could do this. You know, we could do this.”
She listed the home with realtor John Marzullo, an Oakmont resident himself who rented out his own house for the 2016 U.S. Open.
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“Everyone focuses, obviously, on the money and those numbers and hearing about those great numbers, but it’s a big undertaking to get your house prepared for someone else to occupy it,” Marzullo said.
That means essentially moving out, taking your clothes and family photos, as well as buying new bed sheets and towels.
For those willing to do it, it’s a small inconvenience for a potentially big pay day. Rental prices from Marzullo’s site range from $10,000 to $60,000 just for the week.
“It kind of falls in line with similar thoughts on short-term rentals and other vacation markets,” Marzullo said. “Really, that’s what Oakmont becomes. It becomes a vacation spot for a week for a lot of people from all over the world, really.”
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However, it’s not a vacation for everyone.
It’s a work trip for the 156 golfers in the field, all with their own unique preferences for their stay.
Many of them go through Howard Hanna’s Bob Friend, who works directly with the USGA.
He also has more insight than most into what players want as a former PGA Tour player himself.
“They want to be comfortable, and they want to make sure that they have all the elements there that they’re comfortable doing,” Friend said. “A lot of them will want to come with a personal trainer. They might want to come with a personal chef. So, we have to make sure that when we speak with the managers, we understand exactly what their needs are.”
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It’s a high-stakes and high-demand industry with high price tags, but for almost anyone involved, it’s also a chance to show the world what makes this corner of western Pennsylvania so special.
Friend believes it will bring new residents to the area in the long run.
“I think you’re going to have an awful lot of people going to see this as a community that people might want to move into,” he said. “It’s also a great way to showcase our fantastic city and a great storied old golf course. So, there’s an awful lot of pride there.”
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