Heads up, fellow hosts in Eugene, Oregon:
At the Dec. 8 meeting, a long-time Board member of the Fairmount Neighborhood Association presented a list of general criticisms of Airbnbs/short-term rentals and then reviewed, in great detail, the Salem law restricting Airbnb. The Board member concluded his presentation saying the FN Board was thinking of recommending this kind of law to the Eugene City Council.
Many Airbnb hosts were there to comment - only two were able to speak. The opposition evidently took the Board by surprise. After the meeting the presenting Board member said, when directly questioned 1 on 1, that he did not intend to disparage Airbnbs, had only briefly researched the matter when asked to lead that agenda item, and was himself an Airbnb guest (?!). Apparently this came up because there is one vocal neighborhood member pushing the issue. He brought a handout critizing Airbnbs/short-term rentals and distributed it at the meeting.
Needed asap:
1. A way for hosts in Eugene, especially Fairmount hosts, to communicate privately through the website and exchange contact information.
2. Technical support from Airbnb.