There must be something Airbnb can do to help us in the fight against local government regulation.

[Jerry-and-Kerrie0]

ISSUE:

More and more cities and towns are regulating against AIRBNB-type vacation rentals.

• Often encouraged (at the state level) by hotel conglomerates
• Bad eggs (poorly behaved guests) contribute to dislike
• Horror stories are publicized

ROADBLOCKS:

• Cities and towns are overworked and don’t have the energy to take on much more. Rather than find the compromise, they block the use of short-term rentals (it’s always been this way…)
• Hotels are greedy and do not want to lose income
• Poorly behaved guests give all hosts a bad name – there has to be a way to stop them
• Individual AIRBNB hosts are unwilling to publicly fight for vacation rentals for fear they will be shut down – it is better to “fly under the radar.”
• Individual AIRBNB hosts may not have the knowledge or wherewithal to make and defend proposals to their individual towns
• Many Chambers of Commerce curl up their noses when they hear of vacation rentals – the attitude needs adjustment
• Start-up would incur some minimal costs (permits/inspections/etc.)
• Town, most likely, would need some sort of legal review

PROPOSAL

• AIRBNB develop a comprehensive “kit” for hosts to customize for local needs. A kit that they may submit anonymously to their town from AIRBNB for consideration by the town’s leaders.

THE CUSTOMIZEABLE KIT WOULD CONTAIN:

• Proposal to the town to advocate and support short-term rentals in homes and cottages
• A list of proposed regulations in running a short-term rental
  • Must get permit ($ per year – help the town’s coffers)
  • Safety features (extinguisher, smoke alarms, proper exits, etc.)
  • Health features (clean sheets, towels, etc.)
  • Inspection (first when applying for permit, once per year after costs born by fees)
  • Consequences of not getting a permit, or failing inspection, or receiving complaints about guests.
• A definition of the committee to oversee short-term rentals (town people, hosts, town official)
• A definition of how often the committee would meet.
• A definition of the committee’s duties and reporting requirements
• How to encourage the Town to embrace the short-term rental community and help promote it.

[Mike1034]

@Jerry-and-Kerrie0  Good suggestions with thoughts. But I doubt Airbnb will do anything to help hosts except for sending emails when a city council is having meeting to regulate or ban Airbnb hosting.

In such a big event where five people died in Orinda, CA, Airbnb sent nobody to attend Orinda city council's meeting.

[David5641]

If hosts will be willing to pay a monthly or yearly fee to publish their listing, probably why not. Of course, lobbying to all local government is a huge financial undertaking. Remember, although Airbnb collects fees per booking, hosts does not pay anything to maintain their listing published on the website. A listing can be published for a year or more without receiving a single booking, and the host will not pay a single cent. That is definitely a good idea, if hosts are willing to pay.