Yes. I’m not saying I like these new rules. I haven’t really dug into the ins and outs of it all and I havent really researched rules other cities have in place and what the outcome has been. I just don’t think Raleigh discussing restrictions on Airbnb is ‘anti-progressive’ or anything. I think its smart to think about how it would affect the community and longterm livability of our city.
IMO we should always be siding with those who are invested in the city from a community standpoint. If you live, work and play here in Raleigh, then you are a net positive to the growth of the community. If you are just buying up houses and turning them into rentals for profit, you are decreasing inventory for those who want to live here and invest their time and lives here and you are honestly a net-negative to the community’s growth (note I said ‘IMO’).
This is why I am for Airbnb being a net benefit for the Raleigh community. I would be hugely against these cases where an outside investor buys a whole block and converts them to airbnbs. Not a dollar of those rentals goes to the local economy.
Sure, the renters spend money locally but I don’t think it’s to the same degree as a homeowner would. There’s probably a healthy balance. Like I sort of said in another thread, Raleigh is residential basically everywhere, especially in downtown. We don’t have a tourist-only or entertainment only district because this is a people-centric city. (that drive a lot but that’s another issue)
Do you know the actual count? How does it compare to $18m in revenue for local hosts?
Personally I enjoy staying in short term rental properties. It’s cheaper, more interesting, and in many cases better appointed than a hotel room. I stayed in one in Winston Salem recently that was an old ADU, I brought my dog, and learned the 5-star host was renting the property from a landlord! What ingenuity for a tenant to increase the value of their tenancy by managing an Airbnb, subsidizing their own rent.
I just think the individual situations should be dealt with…individually. Not with a city wide regulation. This rule in particular is not terrible, but it’s a slippery slope.
I’m not sure City Council is doing a lot of research and thinking about this topic. From a recent tweet exchange a Raleighite commented “I met with my Council Rep Monday morning. He had no idea how Airbnb works…at all.” That’s Dickie Thompson, btw. We’re having more constructive conversations and more research is being done in this forum than with City Council from what I can tell.
I’m not saying that City Council is thinking about these things. I have no idea. However, I’m saying that SHOULD be what they are thinking about and it should be the conversation we as the city are having.
For instance, when the city put regulations on the scooters the immediate reaction was “NIMBY!, non-progressive, backwards!” When they put these restriction on Airbnb, again we are hearing the same rallying cry.
Now, I do think our city council is all of those things as a whole, but discussions and (at times) regulation on these ‘disruption’ type technologies is smart and necessary no matter what side of the isle you fall on (if you care preserving the things that we all love about Raleigh as we grow).
I mean, just looking at this thread, almost everybody is against developers, or investors that have no interest in the community, buying up houses and Airbnb’ing them year round.
So how do you stop that?
I guess my point is, if this isn’t the right plan for Raleigh (and it probably isn’t), than what is? What regulation on Airbnb protects the citizens rights to rent their home out, while also protects against developers or investors from buying up 1/2 of downtown to make rental homes and ruining the family friendly community that we currently have?
I don’t have an answer, but I find it hard to believe that there isn’t one.
“That’s as city data shows complaints over the years have been sparse. According to the city, just 37 complaints have been received about short term rentals since 2014. Of those, 23 have been found to be in violation, city data shows.”
You do realize Raleigh isn’t the only city rejecting ‘Air BNB for anyone and everyone’, don’t you?
I’d love to sample those of you who are proponents who actually own & live near one of these Air BNB’s. I live in 5 Point and the last thing I want is a short-term rental next door to me, nor to 99.9% of my neighbors.
Same here. I don’t particularly want them living next to me either… I am not sure what is wrong with wanting a great neighbor who actually owns and lives in the houses next to mine…
I want what I just stated above. I prefer owners who actually live in the houses and with no rentals period. I also prefer them to be great neighbors. But, of course, I do realize we can’t always have what we want.
I had a whole house rental directly across the street from me for several years and had exactly 0 issues. In fact, I think I had more interactions then with the guests than the current owners.
The owners who may rent up to two rooms DO live in the house - does renting out these rooms somehow disqualify them from being “great neighbors”? And if so why?
Thanks Leo, this is an important 30k ft. view. The issue is, per usual, rooted in the due process of this current city council, and the backward bending appeasements to wealthy landowners in the city; a disproportionate appeal to the few that bark loudly from their highly-appreciated land values.
How do you know they DO live in the house? They could just have an empty house they rent two rooms out for Airbnb. That’s was the case for the Airbnb 50 feet from my bedroom. The neighbors bought a house at the beach and kept this Raleigh neighborhood house to recoup some money so they did Airbnb rentals—to the point where I had anxiety of Thursday afternoons cuz I never knew what kind of “renters” would be showing up for the weekend I’d have to deal with. Did I complain? Yes, did I have to call RPD once or twice, yes. To me, that is not a great neighbor. That is a neighbor all about himself and not thoughtful of the neighborhood. We were not looped in by this neighbor of her plans to Airbnb. Her whole 1000 square foot 2 bedroom one loft house was $75 a night (I looked it up). I guess I’m in the minority of having a bad Airbnb neighborhood experience.
