Vail Town Council delays vote on measure that would increase short-term rental fees
As proposed, measure would raise $7.2 million per year for housing

Chris Dillmann/Vail Daily
The Vail Town Council on Tuesday delayed action on a new ordinance that would dramatically increase fees for owners of short-term rental properties. The council will revisit the measure at its Feb. 4 meeting.
Town Manager Russ Forrest told council members on Tuesday that town staff had asked for an additional two weeks to evaluate feedback from both sides of the issue before voting on the second and final reading of the measure.
While council members voted 5-2 to table the measure for two weeks — with Reid Phillips and Sam Biszantz voting against the motion — the council took comments from people in the room who came to weigh in on the matter.
As passed on first reading in late 2024, the measure would increase fees on short-term rentals to $1,200 per bedroom. The fee would increase annually by 3% or the rate of the Denver area consumer price index — whichever is lower.
That’s a significant increase from the current fee of $50 per year for units with full-time, on-site management and $250 per year for units with offsite management. Those fees are based on covering only administrative costs including staffing.

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If approved in its current form, the new fees would generate an estimated $7.2 million per year to help pay for workforce housing in town.
The public comments submitted as part of Tuesday’s council packet were mostly in opposition to the ordinance, although some residents wrote in support of the measure. The few people who took the time Tuesday to comment in person also mostly opposed the ordinance.
The Sandstone Creek Club is a timeshare property. Representative Nick Giancamilli told council members that no units in that property could be used for long-term rentals. Giancamilli added that the complex would be assessed a fee of more than $226,000 per year under the new ordinance.
“I don’t see how we’d be able to provide service to our owners,” under the new ordinance, Giancamilli said.
Speaking via Zoom, Vail Racquet Club owner Matthew Lalor said the fees for workforce housing should be spread across the town’s lodging industry. Putting the fees entirely on the town’s short-term rentals “seems inequitable,” Lalor said, adding that the attempt to control short-term rentals will force many current owners to sell to wealthier people who don’t need to rent to cover their costs.
Lalor also urged the council and town staff to take another look at the data they’ve been using.
Lalor cited data from RRC Associates that estimated the daily spending is $2,700 per day for a family of four renting a two-bedroom unit at the Racquet Club.
“We all flinched at that,” Lalor said, adding that updated estimates from RRC put the same family’s total spending at $600 for their stay.