Colorado v. Airbnb: A New Front

Politicians are happy to find unpopular business sectors to hit with tax increases or other costly impositions. Cable-TV franchises would be one example–holders aren’t liked and they don’t have the lobbying heft that, say, despised insurance companies do. Lately, another soft target has been found: short-term housing rentals. The rise of this practice, identified with online services Airbnb and Vrbo but practiced by corporate landlords as well as homeowners, has buffeted the hospitality industry while also offering wider choices for travelers. But that means there’s a disparate group of beneficiaries (those offering square footage and those renting it, neither tightly organized) and at least two concentrated sources of opposition: competing hotel operators (plus their unions) and the neighbors of such rentals, who don’t like the churn of visitors. So the local political equation thus seems clear, and the result is open season on the “Airbnbs.” Various jurisdictions, including now the giant city of New York, have curbed such availability. In another twist, noted this week in the Colorado Sun, a governor is seeking to quadruple the property tax on owners who make a habit of renting out. However, in a state with many beds on offer to budget-conscious or chalet-seeking skiers, the move provoked more resistance than the political equation suggests. Watch this space, so to speak.

Short-term rental owners show up in force to oppose Colorado lawmakers’ plan to tax their homes at a much higher rate