He Wasn’t Thinking About Renting His Arizona Home. Then Rihanna Came Knocking.

Spyro Malaspinas wasn’t looking to rent out his home for Super Bowl LVII in Arizona in February 2023.

The 48-year-old cybersecurity expert initially balked at the idea of leasing his 6,400-square-foot, five-bedroom house on about an acre of land in Paradise Valley, an affluent town between Phoenix and Scottsdale, which he bought for $7.3 million in 2022. Then a property management firm he hired to manage a smaller investment property he owns called and offered Mr. Malaspinas a number that sent him packing.

Mr. Malaspinas didn’t plan to rent out the house but said he was offered $500,000 for the week. PHOTO: STEVE CRAFT FOR THE WALL STREET JOURNAL

“The last thing I am is a real estate baron,” said Mr. Malaspinas. But, he said, “My pride’s not that big. I don’t mind moving out for $500,000 a week.” Mr. Malaspinas, who said the rental income for that week will cover his mortgage payments for two years, later learned his tenant was Rihanna.

“My [13-year-old] daughter was absolutely thrilled,” he said. Rihanna didn’t respond to requests for comment.

When celebrities, sports stars and titans of industry come to town for vacation—or in Rihanna’s case, to headline the Super Bowl halftime show—they are often willing to shell out tens of thousands of dollars or more to stay at a private residence with more space, security and privacy than even the best five-star hotels. Finding properties that meet their criteria typically falls to travel coordinators and assistants, along with business managers and local real-estate agents who tap into closely held networks of clients with luxury homes.

The process is an extremely quiet exercise in matchmaking. “You need to know who to call,” said real-estate agent Carl Gambino of Compass. “Sometimes you know your client went to France for the year and their house is sitting there,” he said. Vacant homes that are listed for sale can be a win-win for everyone involved. And sometimes, homeowners can be persuaded to move for the right price—or person.

Before President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama’s summer vacation on Martha’s Vineyard in 2013, for example, real-estate agent Tom Wallace of Wallace & Co. Sotheby’s International Realty said he got a call around mid fall from a White House planner who shared specific criteria for a presidential rental, including privacy and security. As the son of a U.S. Naval Rear Admiral, Mr. Wallace said he advocated strongly that the first family stay at a compound in Chilmark, Mass., owned by Chicago investment banker David Schulte and his wife, Patricia Schulte, even though the property wasn’t on the rental market at the time.

Set on about 9.5 acres with ocean views, the property has a four-bedroom main residence, a separate two-bedroom guesthouse, a private driveway and ample space to set up security areas. “It wasn’t until we politely stepped on [Mr. Schulte’s] left toe and said, ‘Would you consider a particular guest?’ that he was polite enough to help us orchestrate making that happen,” recalled Mr. Wallace, who declined to say whether there was a nondisclosure agreement. He also wouldn’t disclose the price but said the tenants paid a fair-market rate at the time.

For his part, Mr. Schulte said it was never his intention to rent the house, which he described as a “labor of love,” but he did so out of pride and patriotism. “It’s often said, ‘Nobody can say no to the president.’ That’s pretty true,” said Mr. Schulte, who donated to Mr. Obama’s 2004 Senate campaign. The property has an infinity-edged pool, half-court basketball and access to a private beach. The Schultes, who rented to the Obamas several times, sold the property for $15 million in 2018, records show. The Obamas declined to comment.

In New York, former financial executive Jay Dweck said his house in Bedford Corners had been on and off the market for between $6.895 million and $9.975 million when Mariah Carey’s team reached out to his real-estate agent in June 2020. They asked if Mr. Dweck would consider renting it to her for the summer. “They wanted to be in on July 1,” said Mr. Dweck, who said the singer’s team indicated she might be interested in purchasing the home. Mr. Dweck agreed to the $125,000-a-month rental, and then went onto Airbnb and found himself a house in Greenwich, Conn., for $6,000 a month.

Built around 2006, the roughly 10,500-square-foot house has six bedrooms, a theatre, a 900-gallon aquarium and a violin-shaped swimming pool flanked by koi ponds. Mr. Dweck said terms of the rental agreement stipulated he would not disclose the terms or parties to the rental, meaning the entity that rented the home on the singer’s behalf. But he said Ms. Carey stayed at the house full time with her boyfriend, children and a nanny, while a chef, housekeeper and assistant came daily. The singer’s tour manager and recording engineer were occasionally present, too, and Mr. Dweck said the entire team operated like a well-oiled machine. He said the staff stocked the fridge, unpacked closets and cranked up the pool heater to 91 degrees before Ms. Carey’s arrival. “You could boil lobsters in the pool,” Mr. Dweck said. The only real collateral damage from the experience was the home’s wooden floors, which had pock marks from the singer’s high heels, and ultimately needed to be replaced for $90,000, which was taken out of the security deposit. “She’s not the kind of person where someone says, ‘Mariah, take your shoes off,’” he said. Ms. Carey didn’t respond to requests for comment.

Celebrities, athletes and business titans rent for any number of reasons, said Tomer Fridman of Compass. Summer rentals in the Hamptons and Malibu, for example, are highly-sought after with properties commanding prices from $100,000 to $1 million or more. Artists and entertainers may rent while they are renovating, filming a movie or participating in a show. Some lease luxury estates for recording projects.

In Joshua Tree, Calif., movie producer and artist Chris Hanley said his Invisible House, currently listed for $18 million, became a kind of “cultural icon” that he and his wife, Roberta Hanley, rented out to singers Diplo and Demi Lovato. Diplo did not respond to requests for comment. Ms. Lovato declined to comment.

Completed in 2019, the 5,500-square-foot house is 225 feet long with a reflective glass exterior that mirrors the landscape. Mr. Hanley said at first, the couple opened up the house to family and friends from the art and entertainment world. They also rented it out for music and fashion productions, starting at $10,000 a day. “It started to add up,” he said.

In 2020, the Hanleys put the home on Airbnb for $2,500 a night. In 2021, Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky stayed there, said Mr. Hanley, adding, “We threw in champagne.” Mr. Chesky didn’t respond to a request for comment.

In Palm Desert, Calif., real-estate investor Glen Heggstad said he got into the rental business after a location scout left her business card at his front gate. Since then, Mr. Heggstad, a Brazilian jujitsu instructor and former member of the Hells Angels motorcycle club, has rented his 4,300-square-foot contemporary villa for up to $20,000 a night during Coachella. Set on nearly 2 acres, with an infinity-edged pool and helicopter landing pad, the house has been used by singers Billie Eilish and Lizzo, who posted photos of herself by the pool on social media. Neither singer responded to a request for comment.

Mr. Heggstad said he’s also rented the house for brunches, car photo shoots and cannabis industry events. Recently, he decided to pull back from short-term rentals and weddings. “They get drunk and the in-laws fight,” he said, and because he has been burned too many times. A few years ago, he said, a guest left the house in disarray after a party and he had to fish 100 cigarette butts out of the pool.

Glen Heggstad has rented out his home in Palm Desert, Calif. PHOTO: LUIS GARCIA FOR THE WALL STREET JOURNAL

Short of property damage, short-term rentals at the highest price points come with other quirks, including secrecy around the client’s identity, said Neal Norman of Hawai’i Life. “Typically you don’t get a straight call from those guys. It’s an assistant or travel agent. They open with, ‘I have a VIP,’ ” he said.

There is also typically very little lead time involved. “Sometimes it’s a Thursday and they want to be there for the weekend,” said Chris Cortazzo of Compass. That leaves little time to show the house, run security checks, clean the property and clear out personal belongings. “People don’t want to move in and have someone’s toothbrush there so everything has to be cleared out,” he said.

These VIPs are known to bring their preferred brand of bottled water and linens, along with flowers, air purifiers and home scents, said Mr. Norman, who said he once had a client who had their bed shipped to Hawaii for vacation.

In general, the ultra luxury rental market is as strong as it has ever been, said Tal Alexander of real-estate brokerage Official, which has agents in New York, Florida and California. In the past few months, Mr. Alexander said he’s rented five homes in New York City for $50,000 a month or more. Wealthy renters are willing to pay up for furnished homes in prime buildings and locations, he said.

Some property owners like to know their investments are generating income if they have moved or left town. “They don’t need the apartment sitting empty. It does them no good,” Mr. Alexander said.

During the 2017 Super Bowl, for example, pop star Lady Gaga stayed in a custom home in Houston after the owners relocated, said Marie Sims, whose family company, Sims Luxury Builders, completed the home around 2007. The roughly 9,700-square-foot house has five bedrooms and lots of outdoor space, Ms. Sims said. Last asking $6.5 million, the house sold in 2018, records show. Lady Gaga didn’t respond to requests for comment.

In addition to the Super Bowl, marquee events such as Art Basel and Coachella drive demand for ultra-luxe rentals, and in some cities boutique property managers and rental firms cater to the periodic influx of renters.

In Las Vegas, Bryan Ercolano, founder of vacation rental firm TurnKey Pads, said he and his business partners own a $12.5 million penthouse that they rent out for $5,000 a night during the week and $10,000 a night on weekends when there are big fights or football games. In the past, Mr. Ercolano said they have rented the 7,000-square-foot residence with four bedrooms and 10,000 square feet of terrace space to players from the Kansas City Chiefs and to Usher, who hosted an afterparty for his birthday party in the penthouse one year. The singer didn’t respond to a request for comment. Mr. Ercolano said his business is largely word-of-mouth, with referrals from casino hosts, club promoters and others. “Vegas is a very networky town,” he said. “It’s kind of who you know.”

In Georgia, the Augusta National Golf Club and Augusta Metro Chamber of Commerce partnered 50 years ago to form a rental agency—the Masters Housing Bureau—to facilitate home rentals during the Masters tournament. This year’s suggested rate for a five-bedroom house is $18,000 to $22,000 for four nights and $20,000 to $25,000 or more for seven nights, according to the bureau’s website.

For the past few years, golfer Jordan Spieth has had two houses at the Masters. He rents a “sleeping house” for himself and his family, said his agent, Jay Danzi of WME Sports, and WME rents a second “entertainment house” close by where a chef cooks meals daily. In the entertainment house, “there’s no golf on the television” said Mr. Danzi, who said his team works with the Masters Housing Bureau or WME’s internal partners to find housing. Other than the Masters, Mr. Danzi said Mr. Spieth has been traveling with his wife, baby and dog in an RV.

Patrick Michael, founder and CEO of LA Estate Rentals and Brokerage, said he got into the luxury rental business in 2008 to help real-estate developers lease unsold spec homes. His company also provides concierge services such as car rentals, personal training, restaurant reservations or even tickets to Disneyland. “Very wealthy people want to pick up the phone and say, ‘I need a masseuse at 5 p.m.,’ or ‘Can you send a cleaner tomorrow at 2 p.m.’” he said. His company currently has about 85 listings on the market, and Mr. Michael said a chunk of his business comes from athletes, who rent homes when they are in town for training or after being recently traded.

In Paradise Valley, Mr. Malaspinas said he hasn’t moved back into the house where Rihanna stayed because he’s not sure what his plans are. Since the Super Bowl, people have offered him “crazy amounts of money” to sell.

In retrospect, Mr. Malaspinas thinks he could have rented the home for even more money, though at the time he said he didn’t want to push it. “The last thing you want to be is too greedy,” he said, “and then you miss the whole thing.”

PARIS —Paris has long been a byword for luxurious living. The traditional components of the upscale home, from parquet floors to elaborate moldings, have their origins here. Yet settling down in just the right address in this low-rise, high-density city may be the greatest luxury of all.

Tradition reigns supreme in Paris real estate, where certain conditions seem set in stone—the western half of the city, on either side of the Seine, has long been more expensive than the east. But in the fashion world’s capital, parts of the housing market are also subject to shifting fads. In the trendy, hilly northeast, a roving cool factor can send prices in this year’s hip neighborhood rising, while last year’s might seem like a sudden bargain.

This week, with the opening of the Olympic Games and the eyes of the world turned toward Paris, The Wall Street Journal looks at the most expensive and desirable areas in the City of Light.

The Most Expensive Arrondissement: the 6th

Known for historic architecture, elegant apartment houses and bohemian street cred, the 6th Arrondissement is Paris’s answer to Manhattan’s West Village. Like its New York counterpart, the 6th’s starving-artist days are long behind it. But the charm that first wooed notable residents like Gertrude Stein and Jean-Paul Sartre is still largely intact, attracting high-minded tourists and deep-pocketed homeowners who can afford its once-edgy, now serene atmosphere.

Le Breton George V Notaires, a Paris notary with an international clientele, says the 6th consistently holds the title of most expensive arrondissement among Paris’s 20 administrative districts, and 2023 was no exception. Last year, average home prices reached $1,428 a square foot—almost 30% higher than the Paris average of $1,100 a square foot.

According to Meilleurs Agents, the Paris real estate appraisal company, the 6th is also home to three of the city’s five most expensive streets. Rue de Furstemberg, a secluded loop between Boulevard Saint-Germain and the Seine, comes in on top, with average prices of $2,454 a square foot as of March 2024.

For more than two decades, Kyle Branum, a 51-year-old attorney, and Kimberly Branum, a 60-year-old retired CEO, have been regular visitors to Paris, opting for apartment rentals and ultimately an ownership interest in an apartment in the city’s 7th Arrondissement, a sedate Left Bank district known for its discreet atmosphere and plutocratic residents.

“The 7th was the only place we stayed,” says Kimberly, “but we spent most of our time in the 6th.”

In 2022, inspired by the strength of the dollar, the Branums decided to fulfil a longstanding dream of buying in Paris. Working with Paris Property Group, they opted for a 1,465-square-foot, three-bedroom in a building dating to the 17th century on a side street in the 6th Arrondissement. They paid $2.7 million for the unit and then spent just over $1 million on the renovation, working with Franco-American visual artist Monte Laster, who also does interiors.

The couple, who live in Santa Barbara, Calif., plan to spend about three months a year in Paris, hosting children and grandchildren, and cooking after forays to local food markets. Their new kitchen, which includes a French stove from luxury appliance brand Lacanche, is Kimberly’s favourite room, she says.

Another American, investor Ashley Maddox, 49, is also considering relocating.

In 2012, the longtime Paris resident bought a dingy, overstuffed 1,765-square-foot apartment in the 6th and started from scratch. She paid $2.5 million and undertook a gut renovation and building improvements for about $800,000. A centrepiece of the home now is the one-time salon, which was turned into an open-plan kitchen and dining area where Maddox and her three children tend to hang out, American-style. Just outside her door are some of the city’s best-known bakeries and cheesemongers, and she is a short walk from the Jardin du Luxembourg, the Left Bank’s premier green space.

“A lot of the majesty of the city is accessible from here,” she says. “It’s so central, it’s bananas.” Now that two of her children are going away to school, she has listed the four-bedroom apartment with Varenne for $5 million.

The Most Expensive Neighbourhoods: Notre-Dame and Invalides

Garrow Kedigian is moving up in the world of Parisian real estate by heading south of the Seine.

During the pandemic, the Canada-born, New York-based interior designer reassessed his life, he says, and decided “I’m not going to wait any longer to have a pied-à-terre in Paris.”

He originally selected a 1,130-square-foot one-bedroom in the trendy 9th Arrondissement, an up-and-coming Right Bank district just below Montmartre. But he soon realised it was too small for his extended stays, not to mention hosting guests from out of town.

After paying about $1.6 million in 2022 and then investing about $55,000 in new decor, he put the unit up for sale in early 2024 and went house-shopping a second time. He ended up in the Invalides quarter of the 7th Arrondissement in the shadow of one Paris’s signature monuments, the golden-domed Hôtel des Invalides, which dates to the 17th century and is fronted by a grand esplanade.

His new neighbourhood vies for Paris’s most expensive with the Notre-Dame quarter in the 4th Arrondissement, centred on a few islands in the Seine behind its namesake cathedral. According to Le Breton, home prices in the Notre-Dame neighbourhood were $1,818 a square foot in 2023, followed by $1,568 a square foot in Invalides.

After breaking even on his Right Bank one-bedroom, Kedigian paid $2.4 million for his new 1,450-square-foot two-bedroom in a late 19th-century building. It has southern exposures, rounded living-room windows and “gorgeous floors,” he says. Kedigian, who bought the new flat through Junot Fine Properties/Knight Frank, plans to spend up to $435,000 on a renovation that will involve restoring the original 12-foot ceiling height in many of the rooms, as well as rescuing the ceilings’ elaborate stucco detailing. He expects to finish in 2025.

Over in the Notre-Dame neighbourhood, Belles demeures de France/Christie’s recently sold a 2,370-square-foot, four-bedroom home for close to the asking price of about $8.6 million, or about $3,630 a square foot. Listing agent Marie-Hélène Lundgreen says this places the unit near the very top of Paris luxury real estate, where prime homes typically sell between $2,530 and $4,040 a square foot.

The Most Expensive Suburb: Neuilly-sur-Seine

The Boulevard Périphérique, the 22-mile ring road that surrounds Paris and its 20 arrondissements, was once a line in the sand for Parisians, who regarded the French capital’s numerous suburbs as something to drive through on their way to and from vacation. The past few decades have seen waves of gentrification beyond the city’s borders, upgrading humble or industrial districts to the north and east into prime residential areas. And it has turned Neuilly-sur-Seine, just northwest of the city, into a luxury compound of first resort.

In 2023, Neuilly’s average home price of $1,092 a square foot made the leafy, stately community Paris’s most expensive suburb.

Longtime residents, Alain and Michèle Bigio, decided this year is the right time to list their 7,730-square-foot, four-bedroom townhouse on a gated Neuilly street.

The couple, now in their mid 70s, completed the home in 1990, two years after they purchased a small parcel of garden from the owners next door for an undisclosed amount. Having relocated from a white-marble château outside Paris, the couple echoed their previous home by using white- and cream-coloured stone in the new four-story build. The Bigios, who will relocate just back over the border in the 16th Arrondissement, have listed the property with Emile Garcin Propriétés for $14.7 million.

The couple raised two adult children here and undertook upgrades in their empty-nester years—most recently, an indoor pool in the basement and a new elevator.

The cool, pale interiors give way to dark and sardonic images in the former staff’s quarters in the basement where Alain works on his hobby—surreal and satirical paintings, whose risqué content means that his wife prefers they stay downstairs. “I’m not a painter,” he says. “But I paint.”

The Trendiest Arrondissement: the 9th

French interior designer Julie Hamon is theatre royalty. Her grandfather was playwright Jean Anouilh, a giant of 20th-century French literature, and her sister is actress Gwendoline Hamon. The 52-year-old, who divides her time between Paris and the U.K., still remembers when the city’s 9th Arrondissement, where she and her husband bought their 1,885-square-foot duplex in 2017, was a place to have fun rather than put down roots. Now, the 9th is the place to do both.

The 9th, a largely 19th-century district, is Paris at its most urban. But what it lacks in parks and other green spaces, it makes up with nightlife and a bustling street life. Among Paris’s gentrifying districts, which have been transformed since 2000 from near-slums to the brink of luxury, the 9th has emerged as the clear winner. According to Le Breton, average 2023 home prices here were $1,062 a square foot, while its nearest competitors for the cool crown, the 10th and the 11th, have yet to break $1,011 a square foot.

A co-principal in the Bobo Design Studio, Hamon—whose gut renovation includes a dramatic skylight, a home cinema and air conditioning—still seems surprised at how far her arrondissement has come. “The 9th used to be well known for all the theatres, nightclubs and strip clubs,” she says. “But it was never a place where you wanted to live—now it’s the place to be.”

With their youngest child about to go to college, she and her husband, 52-year-old entrepreneur Guillaume Clignet, decided to list their Paris home for $3.45 million and live in London full-time. Propriétés Parisiennes/Sotheby’s is handling the listing, which has just gone into contract after about six months on the market.

The 9th’s music venues were a draw for 44-year-old American musician and piano dealer, Ronen Segev, who divides his time between Miami and a 1,725-square-foot, two-bedroom in the lower reaches of the arrondissement. Aided by Paris Property Group, Segev purchased the apartment at auction during the pandemic, sight unseen, for $1.69 million. He spent $270,000 on a renovation, knocking down a wall to make a larger salon suitable for home concerts.

During the Olympics, Segev is renting out the space for about $22,850 a week to attendees of the Games. Otherwise, he prefers longer-term sublets to visiting musicians for $32,700 a month.

Most Exclusive Address: Avenue Junot

Hidden in the hilly expanses of the 18th Arrondissement lies a legendary street that, for those in the know, is the city’s most exclusive address. Avenue Junot, a bucolic tree-lined lane, is a fairy-tale version of the city, separate from the gritty bustle that surrounds it.

Homes here rarely come up for sale, and, when they do, they tend to be off-market, or sold before they can be listed. Martine Kuperfis—whose Paris-based Junot Group real-estate company is named for the street—says the most expensive units here are penthouses with views over the whole of the city.

In 2021, her agency sold a 3,230-square-foot triplex apartment, with a 1,400-square-foot terrace, for $8.5 million. At about $2,630 a square foot, that is three times the current average price in the whole of the 18th.

Among its current Junot listings is a 1930s 1,220-square-foot townhouse on the avenue’s cobblestone extension, with an asking price of $2.8 million.