Airbnb’s Secret Weapon to Fight State Laws: Its Hosts

6/4/2024

Hosts are emerging as a political force for the short-term rental industry. They have formed advocacy groups across the United States and are appearing at statehouses, issuing letters, and showing up at community meetings to push their causes. Colorado’s advocacy group, the Colorado Lodging and Resort Alliance, or Clara, launched in 2019. At first, members mainly used the host group to share information on bills. By 2023, the focus shifted to advocacy. Clara later used funding from VRMA to hire its own lobbyist to help defeat proposed short-term rental regulations, said Toby Babich, a Clara founder. The Colorado Senate introduced a bill this year that would quadruple property taxes on short-term rentals. But by then, “the wagons were circled,” Babich said. The group formed a coalition of stakeholder groups, held meetings with lawmakers and solicited economic impact studies. In April, the bill died in committee.

Wall Street Journal (06/03/24) Konrad Putzier; Allison Pohle

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