Staff responds to requests for research on ‘short term rentals’
Posted on September 28, 2017
PDS planners have received inquiries from multiple city officials over the past year regarding Airbnb rentals in their communities. As the number of questions increased, staff began to investigate the issue, looking at how other communities are handling the issue.
Initially, inquiries focused on whether these rentals are permitted under current zoning regulations. As the popularity of ‘short-term rentals’ has grown, additional communities have requested information as to whether they should be regulated within the community.
“Staff along with several of our city administrators participated in a recent webinar to learn more,” said Emi Randall, AICP, RLA, Director of Planning and Zoning. “The short-term rental industry has grown fifteen-fold in the last six years. Airbnb launched in 2009 with zero listings. Today the site is adding 35,000 listings each month.”
Airbnb is now the number one search site for accommodations with 31% of the market share over traditional hotel sites like Booking.com (7%) and Hotels.com (3%). One quarter of the traveling population in the US has now used a short-term rental for either leisure or business travel.
Although Airbnb is the biggest player in this market, there are a growing number of sites—now over 125—providing short-term rent listings and that number is growing every day.
There are many short-term rentals located currently in Kenton County. Most are within traditional residential neighborhoods, most of which have gone unnoticed. Some, however, have resulted in problems for neighbors. Issues of noise complaints, trash accumulations, parking violations, and a lack of occupational tax revenue has left some communities looking for ways to hold property owners more accountable.
PDS staff will continue researching best practices in the coming months and provide recommendations for communities. Contact Emi Randall or Andy Videkovich or call them at 859.331.8980 to learn more.