I really hope that my fellow hosts in and around Iron County see this in time, but if not and this unfortunate thing happens, it will be the fault of Airbnb's strange corporate culture where apparently they will not contact hosts to inform them about something that will impact them.
At any rate, there is a group of busybodies in Cedar City, Utah that are hellbent on killing short-term rentals such as Airbnb by imposing regulations on hosts that will drive them out of business. I and some friends were able to block their first effort back in September of 2018, but they are back and proposing something even worse.
These people want to force local hosts to pay for a special license, have to submit to quarterly fire and safety inspections, have their kitchens inspected quarterly by the health department, and pay a tax that goes towards advertising for local hotels (literal taxation without representation!). But, like a bad infomercial from hell, there is more! They want to create an anonymous complaints system where anyone can complain about a host and they will be slapped with a fine. AND if there are 3 or more complaints the host will have his/her/their license revoked. This is being proposed at the city and county levels, and will be discussed at the city planning meeting at the City Hall in Cedar City on Tuesday the 8th at 5:15pm, as well at the Iron County Commission in Parowan, UT at 10am on Monday the 14th and 21st.
Now, I am all for being a good neighbor. I regularly talk to my neighbors and make sure that my guests are considerate. I tell them regularly that if a guest is rude to them to please call or text me right away and I will make sure that this is included in any reviews. I am also for safe homes, but quarterly inspections at the expense of a host when the majority of us hosts are working stiffs who are trying to get out of the rat race are onerous and prohibitive. I am a full-time special education teacher working 3 other jobs and going to school. My wife runs a local shop and is also in school. In short, if this regulation passes we will probably sell our house and stop hosting. I know several folks who are only able to make their mortgage payments or pay medical bills because they are able to make this extra money from hosting. So color me surprised that every effort I have made to contact fellow hosts in the Iron County area have been blocked by Airbnb because I am "soliciting". I emailed, called, begged, pleaded, and cajoled customer service representatives to PLEASE find a way to directly contact hosts to let them know about these meetings. I have put the word out on social media. I have requested that friends and family tell anyone they know that might be a host, but it isn't enough. These busybodies have hidden their actions until the last minute, and the only reason I know about this is that I have a source that let me know they were trying to sneak it in. I will continue to fight any such regulations, and I hope that others find out soon enough to make their voices heard too, but I baffles me how Airbnb is so willing to throw their hosts under the bus when all we really need is to let the city council and county commission see that this sort of approach to address minor problems that could be addressed by talking to each other is not okay. If you see this in time, please join us or send a representative.
Also, please join the Southern Utah Short Term Rental Coalition on Facebook so that we can keep each other up to date.
Thanks,
Brian M.
