On the afternoon of March 30th, the CEO of Airbnb, Brian Chesky, conducted a live stream for the hosting community. Here is a summary of what Brian said:
Travel is at an all-time low
Recognition and apology that Airbnb has drifted from the host-focus it was created on
COVID-19 cancellation policy was set for the sake of public health. He apologizes for not consulting hosts (violation of partnership)
Actions going forward:
Extenuating circumstance policy – established a $250 million fund to pay hosts 25% of canceled booking. Retroactive to March 14. Cancellations before March 14 will be based on host cancellation policy
Establishment of $5000 grants for Superhosts and Experience Leaders up to a total of $10 million coming early April
Previous guests will be able to send messages and donations directly to hosts. Expected effective date: early April
For USA hosts only: COVID-19 stimulus bill allows Airbnb hosts to be eligible for SBA loans and grants, as well as unemployment benefits
You can view the message and read the details here.
Tight shot of the United States Capitol Dome in Washington DC, USA. Study of the architecture detail.
The CARES Act passed the Senate and House last week providing relief to businesses across the U.S. This bill has provisions specifically targeting affected businesses in the tourism industry. These provisions will be available through grants at the state and local level. Advocating on behalf of the Short-Term Rental Industry is extremely important during this economic crisis.
This legislation provides direct cash payments of as much as $1,200 for individual taxpayers, and $500 per child, phased out when incomes exceed $75,000 for individuals and $150,000 for couples filing jointly. This also dramatically expands unemployment insurance benefits and provides an additional $600 per week for those receiving unemployment benefits. The bill provides $349 billion dollars in much-needed, low-interest, small business loans that could be partially forgiven to help businesses maintain payroll and avoid laying off workers. It also directs billions of dollars toward hospitals and other health care providers on the frontlines of this pandemic, in part to help them purchase additional life-saving protective equipment.
VRMA has provided a high-level overview and breakdown of this bill, which you can read here.
3 Ways to Make Your Voice Heard and show how short-term rentals help support our families, jobs, local neighborhood businesses, and the City’s growth.
#1) Attend and speak at the next STRAC meeting:
There are opportunities for public comment at these meetings and it is important for your voice to be heard.
#2) Speak at City Council Meetings:
Denver City Council meetings take place twice a month on the first and third Monday. Each speaker gets 3 minutes to speak. All details can be found here. If you are interested in learning more and getting involved please email milehighhosts@gmail.com.
#3) Schedule Coffee with your City Council Member:
Email milehighhosts@gmail.com and we will help you schedule a 1:1 appointment with your city council member. They are happy to meet with you as this is part of their responsibility as representatives of us all.
Since conception in 2008, Airbnb properties have taken on many shapes and sizes, from renting an air mattress on a living room floor to full homes that can sleep large groups. More recently the talk of the town has been ‘party houses’, which have unfortunately been the scene of open-invite parties and gun violence.
In response to these recent events, including deadly shootings in other cities, Airbnb announced at the end of last year that they would be banning party houses including parties in condos and apartments. Airbnb has created a Neighborhood Support site with contact info to report parties or disturbances: https://www.airbnb.com/neighbors. Additionally, Airbnb says it’s opening a dedicated hotline for mayors and city officials. We are eager to see these steps taken in order to protect not only our guests and hosting community, but our city at large.
Before changes to the current definition of primary residence are put into place, why not focus on creating a system to service concerns and complaints effectively? The current system is broken.
When a neighbor calls 311 to file a complaint, it’s logged but isn’t communicated to the license holder, host or property manager. Imagine a world where a host recieves a text notification and email when a complaint is filed against their property. The host could immediately address the issue and make adjustments to the house rules/quiet hours, etc. If the issue is noise levels, they could install a decibel reader system like NoiseAware or Minut to send a notification when noise levels surpass the set threshold. This technology should be mandatory.
Complaints in 2019 equated to less than .01 percent of total reservations that took place in Denver.
The complaint system could be streamlined for the benefit of all parties:
Formal Complaint System (with direct notification to host/property manager)
On December 12th, Westword published an article sharing the news that a Denver judge has exonerated Aaron Elinoff by dismissing the felony charges claiming that he was trying to cheat the system with his short-term rental license.
While some City Representatives applaud the use of the affidavit as a means of enforcement, we can see the potential havoc it can cause in an individual’s life as well. If the city’s goal is to have fewer short-term rentals, then the affidavit is successfully accomplishing this. On the other hand, if the city is looking for harmony and supports this community, then a focus on solutions to address the problems would seem like a more diplomatic approach.
We are happy to see Elinoff’s name be cleared and so he can get back to life with his family and focus on work. It makes us wonder how many rule-abiding hosts forfeited their license out of fear of having their reputation damaged and mugshot blasted globally?
Photo: Aaron Elinoff had been fighting against a felony charge related to his short term rental application / Courtesy of Aaron Elinoff
The December 10th STRAC meeting reflected a significantly more positive and collaborative tone towards home-sharing. The Good Neighbor Summit made it into the news headline summary slide, and several members of STRAC & Denver City acknowledged that Denver has a highly engaged and solution-oriented host community. Councilwoman Amanda Sawyer (Dist. 5) was there alongside Councilwoman Candi Cdebaca (Dist. 9) who sat in for Councilman Kevin Flynn.
The proposed regulation to limit short-term rentals to 183 days per year was taken off the table, but more proposals to further clarify primary residence are still coming. The session ended with several well delivered public comments that even further portrayed the positive and collaborative culture we are building here in Denver.
Did you want to share something during Public Comment or in response to something that was presented? If so you can submit your comments here: STR@denvergov.org and CC milehighhosts@gmail.com so we can track hosts’ comments. Use “STRAC Public Comment” as the email subject line.
Join us at the next STRAC meeting at 4PM on Tuesday, February 11th at Webb Building at 201 W Colfax Ave. Rooms 4.F.6 and 4.G
Earlier this month, Excise and Licenses (EXL) presented a draft of proposed changes to Denver’s STR ordinance. Aside from a couple of perfunctory changes, the main revisions involve primary residence requirements. The most contentious update is changing the definition of primary residence to “the place in which a person’s habitation is fixed and is the person’s usual place of return”.
EXL also has proposed striking the “two documents” requirement section (motor vehicle registration, utility bill, voter registration, etc) to prove primary residence and replacing it with what some have referred to as the ‘seven standards.’ EXL would be able to use these seven standards to determine primary residence, either at the time of application or in a hearing.
Many hosts feel these revisions infringe upon property rights, are difficult to enforce and are an overreach of EXL’s powers. MHH recommends reviewing the draft document, in particular, the ‘seven standards’ (Sec 33-53, Issuance or Denial) to better understand how these changes could impact your ability to continue hosting.
Proposed Seven Standards:
(1) Whether the applicant has or claims any other location for domestic, legal, billing, voting, or licensing purposes;
(2) Whether and how often the applicant returns to the short-term rental or resides at any other location within a calendar year;
(3) Whether the address listed on an applicant’s legal documents or tax assessment records is different than the address of the short-term rental;
(4) An applicant’s business pursuits, employment, income sources, residence for income or other tax purposes, leaseholds, situs of personal and real property, and motor vehicle registration;
(5)The number of days that the short-term rental has been, or will be, rented within the calendar year;
(6) Whether the applicant is actively deployed in the United States military; or
The hosting community feels that there is an overreach of power with how regulations are currently being enforced. License holders with no filed complaints are being followed and photographed, neighbors are being questioned and affidavits sent to compliant hosts. Investigations into people’s personal lives is a drain of the city’s resources.
The next STRAC meeting is on Tues, Feb 11 at 4pm and your presence and/or public comment regarding the draft document would be greatly appreciated.
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