By Al Comello
Chair of the Sedona Chamber of Commerce and Tourism Bureau
Sedona AZ (September 28, 2021) – There are two types of owners of short term rentals in Sedona. If you own and live in a home and rent out a room or two, it is quite profitable and beneficial. This extra income can cover the cost of ownership plus some. For some, it’s like having a good job. I think the original intent of the 1350 was just that, to create a new source of income to benefit the owner who lived in the home. I think it’s a good idea.
The other type of owner is the investor who saw the opportunity to acquire a home and covert it into what I call a “mini-hotel,” hire a management company to do all the work of upkeep and care and feeding of the guests, and sit back and rake in the profits. In some cases, the profits are hundreds of thousands of dollars every year for just one home.
There are over 700 of these whole house rentals in Sedona from what I understand. And about one third of them are owned by local residents, a third are from other areas of Arizona and a third are live elsewhere in the U.S. I don’t believe the state legislature and governor ever thought they would be turning so many homes into hotels in the midst of residential neighborhoods and substantially contributing to a serious rental housing and workforce crisis. Short Term rental properties are now 12% of Sedona’s housing stock which is increasing every month. Let’s be honest, these “investors” knew the city couldn’t do anything about it and view their “safe” investment just like buying stock or gold; a great way to make money. I’m sure they are happy finding such a great loop-hole in the system.
6 Comments
Well said, Al. You tell it like it is. We can understand people renting parts of their homes to make ends meet but the corporations doing it for money is just plain greed. We hope we can find a way to stop them.
Completely agree.
Renting rooms in an owner occupied home should not be allowed. That is the old “rooming house” concept. Rentals should be “all or nothing” and this short term rental stuff has really destroyed the area because local workers can no longer find a place to live! Even those building a new home or having extensive remodeling done have nowhere to stay during the construction. There is probably enough public ire over this situation that the Legislature will once again have to take the issue up and try and find a solution. Micro hotels in residential neighborhoods are just not a good fit!
A simple change to the law could fix this mess. The owner of the Airbnb must live on the property.
If the lawmakers had taken the time to read the legislation that they were passing, they would have seen the Pandora’s box that they were opening. If they didn’t understand the legislation, they shouldn’t have supported it. Regarding changing the law to fix the problem, that cat is out of the box. The property rights of short term rental owners has been granted. If the legislature tries to take those rights away after granting them, the lawsuits will fly. Sedona should have worked with Scottsdale and some of the other cities that are tourist destinations to block the legislation before the legislation was passed.
Regarding ‘renting rooms in an owner occupied home should not be allowed’…? I am not understanding the reason that one would object to this method. Owner occupant is present at all times. ???