I feel what you’re all saying but as an owner of Vacation Rental homes in a very, very small town that was absolutely starving for tourism, I wanted to offer another view.
Firstly, I don’t believe it’s true in all situations that a person with multiple rentals doesn’t offer a personal touch or is out of reach to their guests. All of my rentals are within a 15 minute drive of the others. All have welcome books with local attractions, I send all my own messages, personalized gifts for special occasions. We have an easy check in and allow guests privacy unless they request our presence. I do find that most guests prefer to be left alone. Most do not want to hang out with me during their stay though I have been offered a drink and meals quite a few times. I’m worried that such a category would unfairly disclude my listings though the stay might actually be exactly what they are looking for.
My homes all have varying decor styles and and Those styles are changing constantly. They are warm and cozy and though clean and functional, I do believe we have personalized touches and even though I don’t live in the home- it is MY home. My blood, sweat and tears. My savings. My heart and soul goes into creating creative spaces and unique decor choices. Again, a category such as this would unfairly disclude my listings.
Also- I 100% believe that my rentals have improved our small community. Having started my rentals from scratch and building on them year after year, hosting thousands of travelers from all over the world. Thousands, that prior to our investment, were not coming to OUR small town and OUR dying restaurants, bait and tackle stores, gas stations, and small retail stores, etc. I can’t imagine how much money we have helped to bring to this small community. We have had to employ multiple cleaners, repair persons, furniture makers, designers, managers, etc. We buy local art, repurposed furniture, fill our propane tanks, and all of that money stays here- in our community.
Is there a housing crisis in our area? Yes. Does that mean we stop there? No. We also renovated an apartment building last year to provide long term affordable- safe, clean housing. We maintain multiple long term rental homes as well. We try to provide for the complete needs of our community. We are not devil investors. Some of us are hard working and caring and try to do right all around.
I feel like the word investor gives guests the incorrect assumption that we are all running the show like we are a mega millionaire and don’t care about the guests. We LOVE our guests.
A person with strong personal convictions relating to what they believe an Airbnb Classic listing to be- likely will stay with hosts from this category only- Which may impact our small town that thrives on tourism so.
I think the Airbnb classic idea isn’t a bad one but the qualifications should be more than just whether or not you’re using your personal residence or whether you have multiple listings. The assumption that you’re not doing a service to your community in the process wouldn’t be accurate in all instances. We have amazing reviews and they just continue to pour in. I’d like to believe I’m doing a lot of things correctly.