Weekly Regulatory Briefing (41)

🏡Top Stories This Week

• San Francisco, CA: San Francisco labor unions, housing advocates, and city officials are calling for a boycott of Airbnb over its lawsuit seeking a $120 million business tax refund.

🌍 Regional Highlights

• New York: Airbnb is using new polling data to bolster support for Intro 1107, a City Council bill that would ease restrictions under New York’s strict Local Law 18.

📜 New Ordinances Approved

• McKinney, TX: McKinney has updated its hotel occupancy tax ordinance to include Vrbo listings, ensuring all short-term rentals pay the same 13% rate already applied to Airbnb and hotels.
• Reno, NV: The Reno City Council unanimously approved an ordinance Wednesday allowing accessory dwelling units (ADUs) throughout the city under new standards for parking, size, and neighborhood design. 

💬 Catch Up on Discussions

• Austin, TX: Ahead of the Austin City Limits Festival, the city is stepping up enforcement of its short-term rental rules with new council-approved changes aimed at curbing unlicensed listings.
• Lahaina, HI: Lahaina Strong is pressing the Maui County Council to pass Bill 9 without carve-outs, amendments, or delays, saying anything less would betray families displaced by the 2023 wildfires.
• Catskill, NY: The Village of Catskill is preparing for a public hearing on a proposed 4% occupancy tax covering short-term rentals and hotels.
• Stowe, VT: Stowe officials have presented the first round of data from the town’s short-term rental registry, showing 1,039 units registered since the program launched in May.
• Ocean City, NJ: Airbnb is ramping up pressure on Ocean City to repeal its new 3% occupancy tax, approved by a narrow 4–3 vote in July.
• Wells, ME: Wells’ Select Board continues to refine its proposed short-term rental ordinance following its September 30 workshop, the third meeting focused on developing local rules for vacation rentals.
• Philipstown, NY: Philipstown officials are moving forward with a new set of short-term rental rules that emphasize safety, accountability, and neighborhood protection.
• Galveston, TX: Galveston officials are preparing to tighten oversight of the city’s 4,200 short-term rental properties through a proposed ordinance that would allow repeat violators to lose their rental licenses.
• Lenox, MA: Lenox officials are refining their short-term rental bylaw ahead of a Nov. 6 special town meeting, with new inspection and registration requirements drawing mixed reactions from property owners.
• New Orleans, LA: The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals has upheld most of New Orleans’ short-term rental regulations but struck down the city’s rule banning corporate ownership of STRs.
• Hilton Head Island, SC: Hilton Head Island officials are shifting from talk of a rental moratorium to drafting tighter regulations for the island’s roughly 7,000 short-term rentals.
• Lewisville, TX: Lewisville’s short-term rental market is poised for growth after the City Council voted 4–3 on Oct. 6 to raise the citywide permit cap from 130 to 150.
• Port Aransas, TX: Port Aransas voters will weigh a proposed 2% increase to the city’s hotel occupancy tax in the November 4 election, raising the overall rate from 13% to 15% for hotels and short-term rentals.
• Northern Mariana Islands: Lawmakers in the Northern Mariana Islands are moving to modernize tax collection for short-term rentals.

🌱 Let’s Explore: Emerging Trends

Across the U.S., short-term rental policy is evolving rapidly as cities, lawmakers, and residents respond to mounting concerns over housing access, taxation, and local control. Recent developments reveal several emerging trends shaping the next phase of regulation.

🏧Legal and Labor Clashes Over STR Taxation Intensify: Tensions between cities and major rental platforms are deepening as financial disputes spill into public campaigns. In San Francisco, labor unions and housing advocates are calling for a boycott of Airbnb over its $120 million tax refund lawsuit, framing it as a test of corporate accountability amid the city’s housing strain. Meanwhile, in Ocean City, New Jersey, Airbnb is mounting its own counterpressure to repeal a 3% occupancy tax, signaling a nationwide escalation in conflicts over how short-term rental platforms contribute to local coffers.

📎 Local Governments Expand STR Oversight Through Tax and Permit Reforms: Cities and towns across the U.S. are ramping up their control over short-term rentals through updated taxation and licensing systems. McKinney, Texas, moved to ensure all STR platforms collect the same hotel occupancy tax, while Philipstown, Lenox, and Wells continue fine-tuning ordinances that emphasize registration, safety inspections, and accountability. Similar measures in Galveston and Hilton Head Island are pairing higher oversight with stricter enforcement.

🗳️ Political and Community Momentum Builds Ahead of Key Local Decisions: Upcoming hearings and elections are turning short-term rentals into defining local issues. Tybee Island’s city election is shaping up as a referendum on vacation rentals, while Hilton Head Island and Gallatin County prepare pivotal votes on tightening rules and defining STR use for the first time. In San Diego, proposals to tax second homes and full-time vacation rentals signal how housing policy and fiscal reform are becoming increasingly intertwined.

STR Scam Watch: Staying Smart, Safe & Compliant

STR rules are changing fast. Permits, fees, and compliance updates seem to drop every month and scammers are exploiting the confusion.

STRisker - Short-term regulatory changes and newsDane Artisola

📅 Future Meetings and Public Hearings/Comments:

• Hilton Head Island, SC: After hearing from more than 50 speakers, the panel unanimously voted to forward a revised ordinance to the Town Council, which will review the proposal on Oct. 13.

• Gallatin County, MT: Gallatin County will soon hold public hearings on a proposed zoning amendment that would define and regulate short-term rentals for the first time.

• San Diego, CA: San Diego Councilmember Sean Elo-Rivera is pushing a new tax on second homes and full-time vacation rentals as a way to reduce the city’s structural budget deficit. A hearing before the council’s Rules Committee is expected Oct. 22.

• Philipstown, NY: The board has scheduled a workshop for Oct. 29 to refine the proposed ordinance before a formal vote.

• Tybee Island, GA: Tybee Island’s upcoming City Council election is shaping up to be a referendum on short-term vacation rentals. Early voting starts Oct. 14, with Election Day set for Nov. 4.

• Nantucket, MA: The Nantucket Planning Board is voted Thursday on whether to endorse one of two short-term rental (STR) proposals for the Nov. 4 Special Town Meeting.

🖱️ Click of the Week: See What Everyone’s Reading

The case for reforms to New York’s restrictions on short-term rentals

An interview with Michael Blaustein, chief of policy at Airbnb

City & State New YorkRalph R. Ortega

The case for reforms to New York’s restrictions on short-term rentals

Airbnb is using new polling data showing 81% of New Yorkers think the city is headed in the wrong direction on housing affordability to push for reforms to Local Law 18 through City Council bill Intro 1107. The platform argues that easing current short-term rental restrictions would help residents earn extra income and support local economies, while critics maintain the law is essential to prevent illegal rentals and protect the city’s limited housing supply.

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