How Masters week rentals
actually work

One week a year, Augusta's housing market goes sideways. For the tournament, tens of thousands of visitors need beds, and the city answers with a patchwork system that has been building for decades: a housing bureau tied to the tournament, local rental agencies, and thousands of homeowners listing on Airbnb, Vrbo, and Booking.com.

Here is the shape of it:

• Most houses rent for the whole week, Sunday to Sunday or close to it. Many Airbnb hosts require the full week, so if a listing is unclear, message the host before you assume you can book three nights.
• Demand runs the full week, not just the four tournament rounds. Practice rounds start Monday, the Par-3 Contest is Wednesday, and the Augusta National Women's Amateur plays the weekend before, so visitors arrive early and the market reflects it.
• Corporate clients are a big part of the market. Companies rent houses for executives, clients, and "dinner homes" where they host client dinners instead of crowded restaurants.
• The long-running local joke is that renting your house during Masters week pays that year's mortgage. It is a joke with real math behind it, which the price section below shows.

If you are coming for the tournament, start with the booking timing section. If you own a house here, the homeowner sections are for you.

Three channels do most of the business. You can use one or all of them.

Masters Housing Bureau

The Masters Housing Bureau (mastershousing.com) describes itself as the first, foremost, and only rental agency sanctioned by Augusta National Golf Club. It says the bureau grew out of a partnership between Augusta National and the Augusta Metro Chamber of Commerce that has run for over 50 years, and that it markets and brokers homes for tournament visitors including players.

How listing works, per the bureau's own site: you apply through their List Your Home page with current photographs of every room plus exterior shots. High-quality photos matter for matching renters and setting the fee. Pricing factors the bureau names: property size, location, floor plan, quality of furnishings, amenities such as pools or billiard rooms, and distance to Augusta National Golf Club.

Local agencies

CQ Golf (formerly Corporate Quarters, corporatequartersinc.com) calls itself the area's premier Masters housing agency and says it has over 45 years of experience working with players, corporations, and sponsors. Per their site: a $25 listing fee, high-resolution photos required, and you are expected to arrange daily housekeeping (they cite a typical $75 per day for an average house, folded into the price). They also describe "dinner homes," houses rented by companies to host client dinners during the week.

Major Sports Augusta (majorsportsaugusta.com) pairs homeowners with what it calls highly qualified corporate clients. Per their site: listing is free, they selectively approve properties that meet their criteria, and once approved your listing stays in their database without annual renewal.

Airbnb, Vrbo, and Booking.com

The marketplaces are the do-it-yourself route and the volume is real. For the 2025 tournament, analytics firm AirDNA counted more than 16,400 booked nights on Airbnb and Vrbo for April 7 to 13, up 11 percent from 2024 (reported by Front Office Sports, April 2025). You set the price, handle the listing, and pay the platform's cut.

Getting the house ready

A local realtor's prep guide for CSRA homeowners (faireyteam.com) sketches the timeline: 8 to 10 weeks out, decide which rooms guests can use, get professional photos, confirm your homeowners insurance allows short-term rentals (private short-term rental insurers like Proper and CBIZ exist if yours does not), board pets early, and lock away personal items. One practical tip from an experienced agency: photograph the house around Masters time, when the flowers are in bloom.

Distance to Augusta National is the price driver. Everything below was published with a date; treat each figure as a snapshot of the year it describes.

The pattern is simple: proximity and bedrooms set the band, and corporate or player-level demand sets the top. A whole week is the unit, so divide any weekly figure by seven before comparing it to a hotel night.

The "Augusta Rule" is real, and it is named for this tournament. Internal Revenue Code section 280A(g) lets you rent out your residence for up to 14 days per year and exclude the income from your federal taxes. A Masters week rental fits inside that window.

The conditions, as tax professionals describe them:

• The home must be one you live in, your primary residence or a second home.
• The 14-day limit is for the whole tax year, not per renter.
• You cannot deduct rental-period expenses against the income.
• The rent charged should be in line with the market. Masters week market rates are what they are; document them.

Two honest cautions. First, this describes the federal treatment; ask a tax professional how Georgia handles it before you assume anything at the state level. Second, the rule helps people who rent their own home for a week. If you are running a year-round short-term rental business, different rules apply.

Renting to strangers during the biggest week of the year invites trouble in both directions. Start here.

• Verify affiliation claims. The Masters Housing Bureau says it is the only rental agency sanctioned by Augusta National. Treat any other company claiming a tournament affiliation with skepticism and verify it directly before signing anything.
• The classic fake-renter scam is the overpayment check: a "renter" sends a check for more than the rent, asks you to wire back the difference, and the check bounces. Real renters pay through the platform or the agency, never by wiring you extra money first.
• Never pay a "renter" to secure a booking. Legitimate agencies earn from listing fees (like CQ Golf's $25) or take a commission on booked stays. If someone asking to rent your house wants you to send them money first, walk away.
• Check your HOA rules and your insurance. As of 2026, Augusta-Richmond County has no short-term-rental-specific ordinance or permit requirement, but you still need the standard business tax certificate and owe the usual lodging taxes, and your HOA or insurer may have their own say (per a 2026 bnbcalc regulatory guide). Confirm before you list.
• Document the condition of the house before guests arrive. Photos, an inventory of anything valuable you are leaving, and a written agreement beat memory every time.

Book through channels with a paper trail.

• The Masters Housing Bureau lists homes directly and works with corporate and individual renters.
• Established local agencies such as CQ Golf and Major Sports Augusta keep databases of approved homes.
• On Airbnb, Vrbo, and Booking.com, filter for established hosts with reviews. A brand-new listing with professional photos and no reviews during Masters week deserves extra scrutiny, not less.
• Compare the neighborhood, not just the price. A house eight miles out at a fraction of the price can be the better deal if you have a car; a walk-to-the-course premium only pays off if you plan to walk. See the neighborhoods guide for how Augusta's areas sit relative to the course.
• Confirm the rental length before you fall in love with a listing. Many hosts require the full week, and the price you see may already assume it.

Start looking the summer before, right after the ticket lottery. When the 2026 lottery winners were announced in June 2025, local coverage was already advising winners to book a place to stay that summer because the pool of homes was thinning (Beacon Journal, July 2025).

What to expect:

• Most bookings land months ahead. Corporate clients and repeat renters often lock in homes a year out.
• Last-minute is possible but thin. In early April 2026, with the tournament days away, options were still available on Airbnb, from a camper to luxury homes, at full last-minute prices (Golfweek, April 2026).
• Expect whole-week terms. If you only need tournament rounds, you are still likely paying for the week.
• Traffic near the course during tournament week is its own event. A place a few miles out with easy road access often beats a place closer in that sits in the thick of it.

Rental scams surge around big events, and Masters week is one of the biggest. The red flags below come from a ConsumerAffairs rental-scam guide (July 2026) and apply directly here.

• A listing priced far below comparable homes for the area is the classic lure. Cross-check the price against the market figures above.
• A "host" who pressures you to move the conversation off the platform and pay directly is a red flag, full stop. Keep payments inside the platform so you keep its protections.
• Never pay before you have a verifiable booking. Requests for gift cards, cryptocurrency, or wire transfers are how scams end.
• AI-generated listing photos are now common in scams. Reverse-image-search the photos; if they appear on other listings in other cities, walk away.
• Be wary of listings that cannot answer basic local questions. Ask where the house sits relative to Washington Road or the course and see if the answer makes sense.