By Tommy Acosta
(July 28, 2021)
There’s an old saying I have always liked: “Before you judge another, walk a mile in their shoes.”
Concerning the Air B&B conundrum in Sedona, it’s difficult for me to judge the negative impact of their proliferation because I live in a gated community that does not allow them.
Though I do know a few individuals who rent a part of their home or a second home to make ends meet; and others whose neighborhoods have been overrun.
The observation that these rapidly multiplying short-term rentals hurt the community by denying affordable housing to those who live here is footed on solid ground.
It makes sense that some local workers find it impossible to find affordable housing for themselves and families and that there are those who are actually living in their cars or in the forest lands because they are basically homeless.
The cold hard fact that the state allows and protects Air B&Bs under the law, is immutable.
Homeowners, investors simply have the right to buy up whatever available real estate that’s left in the city and do what they please with their property.
The question remains, what can Sedona do to mitigate the damage?
Basically, residents are at the mercy of the Air B&B owners and the investors now gobbling them up.
Choices on what to do are limited.
Perhaps education needs to be considered; education that helps the Air B&B renters better understand how to be good neighbors and considerate of the concerns their temporary neighbors have.
Such things as leaving cars double parked, playing loud music, leaving trash around, throwing late-night parties and such must be curtailed.
The city should be firm in enforcing noise ordinance laws and such. Fines need to double for infractions and the money collected re-directed to further education.
Owners of Air B&Bs should receive guidance from the city on how to help renters be more responsible and become good neighbors themselves.
Every B&B owner should post flyers in their property with instructions on how to behave during their stay in Sedona.
Homeowners in afflicted communities could band together and visit Air B&B renters as soon as they move in for their stay and embrace them, graciosely welcome them as temporary members of their community and appeal to their sense of decency.
A smile could go a long way in helping renters to be more respectful of their surroundings.
And if being nice does not work, a web site featuring “Air B&Bs of Shame” identifying outlets where owners and renters allow activities that harm the community could be created to dissuade potential renters from renting there.
Trying to end advertising Sedona outside of its limits is pointless because the cat is out of the bag and Sedona’s reputation of being one of the safest and most beautiful places on the planet to visit cannot be tarnished.
Traffic congestion, speed bumps at the roundabouts, etc. are Band Aids. The city simply has to find ways to mitigate the overflow and Sedona natives need to adjust their schedules to avoid the inevitable traffic jams.
Voters can try to vote out state-elected officials that support Air B&Bs but chances of that happening are slim considering massive opposition from fundamentalist that believe their home is their castle and no one has the right to tell them what to do. The property belongs to them and that is that.
Our only way to mitigate the damage is to welcome our visitors and convince them to be good neighbors while here.
The harder we try to resist the Air B&Bs the longer the problem will persist.
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10 Comments
Tommy, thank you. A voice of reason. There are many VRs in my Uptown neighborhood. Only one is loud and seems not to be considerate of others. The others are friendly and very considerate. Since one of my cats, Muffy, likes to sneak off to one of the VRs, I get a chance to meet the people, which was the case recently. They loved her, told me they were visiting and how much they liked Sedona…. Your article truly speaks to me. My experience has been to wave, welcome them, and appreciate them being considerate and friendly. Frankly, my neighborhood looks well maintained and almost all VR owners use the concierge trash service for $20/mo.
Tommy, throwing up our hands and saying “accept it” is absolutely the wrong approach.
You say “Trying to end advertising Sedona outside of its limits is pointless because the cat is out of the bag and Sedona’s reputation of being one of the safest and most beautiful places on the planet to visit cannot be tarnished.” If the cat is truly out of the bag and ending advertising won’t make a difference, then the millions of dollars spent by the city on tourism marketing is an utter waste of money and should be stopped immediately. Let’s spend those wasted advertising millions on benefits for our residents!
It is also absolutely wrong that Sedona’s reputation “cannot be tarnished.” It has been tarnished already. The trash on our trails, noise, and traffic jams DO and HAVE diminished our quality of life and our reputation as a beautiful, natural area. Are the rocks still beautiful? Yes. But Sedona is most definitely less beautiful, healthful and enjoyable because of the continual marketing and development of tourism pushed for years by the city and the chamber of commerce.
You also say “Our only way to mitigate the damage is to welcome our visitors and convince them to be good neighbors while here.” Oh boy, that is wrong! Doing nothing is never the answer. The only way to mitigate the damage is to support and vote for political leaders who will listen to us and our needs, and to support policies and legislation that advance community, neighborhoods and livability instead of greed. There’s nothing wrong with making a buck. There is everything wrong with elevating the making of a buck over every other consideration, particularly the environmental, economic and social health of our communities.
Finally, a word about AirB&B owners. I am literally surrounded by this rentals in my Uptown neighborhood. The house next door to me has changed hands twice in the past two years, both the owners were AirBnB types. Both were/are very nice, introduced themselves to me, keep up their properties and were/are responsible owners. But even “good” guests cause impacts because these properties are now hotels, not homes, and my neighborhood is no longer a neighborhood because of increased traffic, noise, litter and absence of community.
There IS a way to mitigate the damage! Don’t just accept it, folks. Let your state legislators know that this situation needs to change, and support and — most importantly — VOTE for the candidates who are willing to change it! If you don’t bother to take the time to register and VOTE FOR CHANGE, you will not get change.
I agree with everything you pointed out, Celeste.
But until we are sure our votes count, why vote? It seems the whole country have SELECTED (not elected) government officials. Every county and every vote in America needs to be audited to expose the corruption and fraud. We need the entire state of Arizona to be audited, not just Maricopa County.
Until the elections can be verified and certified correct after an audit, it does NO GOOD to vote. Those that oppose audits are complicit in the Cyber Pearl Harbor attack on our freedom and our rights as US Citizens.
You have been misinformed, this situation is immutable and cannot be voted out. One can rant and rave, but it is futile.
I remember Sedona. She left town. People still seek her, but she is not coming back.
Just a heads up, state law forces the city to spend money on advertising ( product Development)
Its the state law like always that keeps the city from doing what they want…Just like Air B&Bs!
I see nothing wrong with being kind and courteous to our visitors, as I believe the same speaking to my neighbor…..Its not their fault for booking through Air B&B, lets put the blame where it belongs with Doug Ducey !
Another good point is we dont have city property tax because our visitors pay more than 75% of our taxes…
No AirBnB or VRBO rental should be allowed unless the property is owner-occupied or property manager on site. Investors and big hoteliers should not be allowed to buy up all the homes in the neighborhood and turn them into hotels. When homes becomes hotels at the expense of neighborhoods, this goes against the original intention of SB 1350 where private property home owners were allowed to rent out space in their homes for extra income.
There are two kinds of law. One is based on Justice. The other is based on control.
There is one kind of law, and it is about control. SB1350 was the brilliant idea of a retrumplican governor whose pockets were no doubt lined by airbnbdotcom. And there is no turning back, it is an immutable law.
And, can you imagine the meltdown if it was overturned? Your property values would plummet as property after property went into foreclosure. Could you then cry ‘victory’?
I remember Sedona, she left town and is not coming back.
I’m afraid it is you that is misinformed Mr Hauk.
The majority of the private property owners were already doing Airbnb in Sedona before it was legal. SB1350 came about by the will of the people, however, Sedona mismanaged the situation because they are beholden to the fat wallets of visiting tourists.
Without clear rules and guidelines, investors and major hoteliers took clear advantage of the situation and Trump had nothing to do with it. The only thing Trump is truly responsible for is waking people up to the corruption of the democrat communist “leading” the country to its doom.
We CAN change things but first we have to have clean elections and a city council that doesn’t follow the UN2030 Agenda. We have to get back to basics, which is first and foremost getting rid of the city government who has mismanaged us to this point.
@JB Sedona
Who cares what you think JB! Your most recent comments prove what a complete moron you are. You just love spewing nonsense. I guess it makes you feel important and feeds your fragile ego. When’s trump regaining office!? You said August correct LOL
This article is missing the point.
Homes for sale all over America are being snapped up by corporations and investors in preparation of the great reset.
A friend of mine called me yesterday and told me a home in his neighborhood had just been listed and asked if I wanted to go with him to the Open House. We arrived at the Open House only a couple of hours after the it began, only to find out that the home had already been sold, sight unseen, to a corporation who had an all-cash offer 25% over the asking price.
Why are corporations buying up homes? Just to turn them into Airbnb’s? These corporations are looking to redistribute -Get this- $120Trillion dollars. The entire wealth of the worlds middle class and poor combined several times over.
I’m sure this home will become another home hotel because corporation who own homes have no “skin in the game.” They could care less about the neighborhood or who they displace. They are nameless faceless thugs.
Now, your potential lower to middle class home owner is positioned to be a permanent renter in big box apartment homes far from rural areas. This matters because for the lower and middle class in America, owning a home is the most major part of any financial success, and future upward mobility.
This is wealth redistribution, and it ain’t rich people’s wealth that’s getting redistributed. It’s normal American middle class, salt of the earth wealth heading into the hands of the worlds most powerful entities and individuals. The traditional financial vehicle gone forever.