The vacation rental industry has stepped up efforts to influence U.S. lawmakers to keep more cities from enacting restrictions on short-term rentals in response to concerns about housing availability and quality of life.
“We’re really eager to work with those local lawmakers to understand what their priorities are, but there are some opportunities to strive for stability and consistency in state law,” said Richard de Sam Lazaro, senior director of government affairs at Expedia. Cox helped draft legislation to restrict short-term rentals in New York City that took effect in September 2023. Since then, listings for less than 30 days have fallen by 54 per cent, according to AirDNA, a short-term rental analytics firm.
Vacation home purchases have already slowed due to higher interest rates and elevated home prices, said Melanie Brown, director of data insights at vacation rental analytics firm Key Data. Milo said property managers across Southern states are trading notes on how to increase their lobbying.