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Which is why we need some sweeping regulations on them. Right now it’s regulated by town/city. Airbnb spends a LOT of $ lobbying local politicians too. Ran into that here. Very difficult to fight that as a local resident. Can’t afford to compete with the major $ the STR lobbying brings. We desperately need broader regulations, on a federal level as well as local zoning laws enforced, etc.

It really boils down to 3 things:
1: we have people getting (or hoping) to get rich off a passive income (STRs)
2: we have local and federal politicians benefiting from the lobbying $ the STR platforms like Airbnb, Verbo, etc bring their way
3: we have the people that use them who like the convenience and everything else be damned.

At the very least, people should research who their “host” is- if the host identifies as a real estate investor, that property should be avoided because those are the people who are destroying communities. If someone is renting out their house they live in- totally different animal. It’s the mini hotel empires consisting of multiple single-family homes owned/run by one operator that’s the problem.

Lake Tahoe is a great example of STRs run amuck. There are so many STRs there that now the operators along with the local business can’t find help, since everyone who would work those jobs has been priced out of living anywhere near there. I believe they recently were forced to put in some regulations and restrictions with teeth because of it.

I was absolutely shocked at how quickly the full-time, whole house STRs grew here in my area between 2021 and 2024. I’m not in a major tourist area either. And at the same time the cost of housing is going up and up, pricing the locals out. The Airbnb next to me is always full. She collects around 8k a month in “rent” on that one house. It’s a small house, entry level, she bought it in 2021 for 200k. Perfect for a starting out family, or downsizing older person. She would never be able to rent long term for the money the STR brings in. She has all her property placed in tax loopholes too. 40-somethings- I forget the name off the top of my head- Its a loophole that avoids capital gain taxes and allows her to extract the equity from one house, as long as she takes that gain (from the extracted equity) and buys another house of equal value. This is how the little empires are born. It’s very bad for anyone that hopes to own a home, or rent an apartment to actually live in. People who stay in these places are ready screwing themselves in long run.