Short-term rentals deserve a fair look
Dear Editor: Shandaken’s shortage of affordable housing and shortage of living-wage jobs are a problem.
Answer: Subsidized housing and a living minimum wage.
No! Instead, let’s do the con game with Airbnb, the most successful new short-term rental advance in Shandaken’s struggling tourism economy.
On the plus side, short-term rentals provide desperately needed visitor lodging, desperately needed income to local homeowners, and employment for many property managers. It has led to the renovation of run-down, vacant buildings. As a result, there are more longterm rentals here than ever, despite fake rumors to the contrary. It brings much-needed tourist income to dining, shopping and entertainment businesses. It is part of a wider “Gig Economy,” including pop-up commercial businesses.
On the negative side, the big hotel lobby cons us into blaming Airbnb for everything. They hate competition. And local residents who once were surrounded by empty weekender homes now know what it feels like to really have neighbors. Full-time neighbors can make noise, mess and be disagreeable. When it crosses the line, police intervene. That’s life. Happens every day. Nothing new here. Blaming short-term rentals for your woes is the con game.
What to do? Tax and overregulate a vibrant new economy with so many benefits for our community?
No. Clamp down on rotten apples instead. Airbnb has an easy way for neighbors to shut down truly bad hosts. Go to: www.airbnb.com/neighbors to report violators. Three strikes and they’re out.
Try that with full-time neighbors.
Shandaken has a long history of boarding houses, bedand-breakfasts, little inns, and camping. We live in a desirable place and we have shared our homes with tourists for 200 years. But an Airbnb is not a commercial multiunit hotel business like the Emerson. It is a residential rental and should be treated like a residential rental.
The Shandaken Short-Term Rental Committee has no Airbnb hosts on it. Why?
Weekenders need representation on this committee, too. They pay big taxes, but can’t vote in local elections. That’s taxation without representation.
A new Shandaken survey is being crafted to begin the regulation process. It must be unbiased, not designed to get negative results for the benefit of the wealthy hotel lobby. We need good, sensible regulations that encourage economic growth.
If this mild uptick of anecdotal complaints is the worst impact of short-term rentals, imagine the crisis if the proposed Belleayre Resort is built. Thousands of workers, displacing real tourists, eating up all available housing, driving rental costs sky-high. But the foolish developers refused to provide any worker housing in their plan.
Here comes Airbnb, which provides as many tourist rooms as a megaresort, with minimal disruption.
Perhaps some of those struggling to rent or buy homes could afford it if they also took in Airbnb guests. Dave Channon
Shandaken