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Letter: Don’t blame short-term rentals for housing crisis

Recently, the town “leaders” of various mountain communities wrote a joint letter and tried to be nice while calling Airbnb a liar. But, they all reside in glass houses. Although the various town “leaders” criticize the Airbnb study on the impact of short-term housing as “… not entirely true,” they don’t present any contradicting facts, only contrary opinions. If these “leaders” want to lead, they would stop class warfare.  

The “facts” they say are not addressed:

  1. “… that the opportunity for a high return-on-investment due to short-term rentals drives investment buying and increases home prices.”  

This is basic economics and it has nothing to do with the long-term rental inventory. The reason short-term rentals go up is due to a limited supply of short-term rentals relative to demand. That says nothing about the long-term rental inventory. But, long-term rental rates have also increased making them an attractive investment as well. The reason the rates for both have gone up, and increased prices for both, is because there has not been enough housing built. And, that is clearly addressed in the Airbnb study’s conclusion. 



2. “By using rental data from 2019, the report doesn’t reflect the conditions that have ‘changed dramatically during the past three years.’”

The housing shortage pre-dates the pandemic, so the “leaders” should not use that as an excuse for the housing crisis nor for “more urgent” solutions.  It is the same problem, that will have the same solutions as before the pandemic.

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3. “That the report fails to address the relationship between job increases and increased competition for housing resources”

How does the report fail to address that relationship? It seems that our political “leaders” have failed to address that relationship. If the various political powers had not impeded the development of housing in the mountain communities in conjunction with the growth of their economies, there would not be nearly the crisis we are experiencing now. Would they now propose that the businesses in the mountains turn away business and lay off their employees in order to address the housing crisis?

I have been coming to the Vail Valley regularly for 37 years, and I have owned property here for 17 years. There has been a housing problem in the mountains for as long as I can remember. Airbnb and VRBO did not invent short-term rentals, especially in resort communities. The growth in STRs has not markedly outpaced the general economic growth in the mountain communities. The demand for both STRs and long-term rentals has increased. Most of that is attributed to the prolonged economic expansion that was experienced from 2009 to 2020 (interrupted only by the pandemic). The need for housing was not adequately addressed during this prolonged expansion.

However, the demand for housing accelerated during the pandemic, as many people chose to “shelter-in-place” or work remotely in a much nicer place than they had in the city. Concurrently, the housing crisis that was not addressed for decades became acute. So, now everyone is blaming the pandemic and looking for a “quick fix.” 

The “leaders” respond to the reports’ proposed solutions with the assertion that it “ … fails to mention the work these communities have already done in this regard and also offers no suggestions as to where the additional revenue to make such subsidies should come from.”

I am sure it was an oversight by Airbnb and the authors of the study to not give credit to the local politicians for trying, but, the Airbnb study implies that the “leaders” have not done nearly enough. The “leaders” response also implies that the proposed solution takes too long and is too expensive. It is sort of like saying that the development of the vaccine for COVID is too expensive and takes too long, so let’s all drink bleach.  

Further, with rents so high, the “leaders” don’t need more revenue. They need to get out of the way and let people build. How long has the town of Vail run interference with Vail Resorts’ effort to build Booth Heights?

The housing shortage is not caused by STRs. This is transferring blame and pitting one community against another.

Michael Moore
Avon and Spicewood, Texas


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