Popular travel space-sharing website Airbnb is up for discussion by the City of Little Rock Board of Directors in the coming weeks. A recent article in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette about Fayetteville's discussion sparked concern, and I hope to encourage Little Rock not to go in the wrong direction.
The debate concerns Little Rock's desire to develop policies to make sure short-term rentals (STRs) such as Airbnb are making good decisions. STRs are a business, according to Arkansas Money and Politics, and the listing entity is required to have a business license. But the city has no enforcement or oversight for STRs.
The city of Fayetteville is discussing ways to regulate STRs, including maximum numbers of people per bedroom, need for a business license, safety inspections, banning of parties or special events, density-per-block limitations, and monitoring of possible human trafficking.
My partner and I use Airbnb and other space-sharing websites when we travel across the U.S. and Europe. In some cases, like a Parisian apartment we stayed in that was literally the size of most master closets in the U.S., our experience is only worth sharing to explain what survivalists we are. But in many others, you can't beat the experience, service, or price.
Full disclosure: I am a Superhost on the Airbnb website (defined as "experienced hosts who provide a shining example for other hosts and extraordinary experiences for their guests") as well as the owner and operator of the Tiny Home, one of the most popular Airbnb spaces in Arkansas.
I benefit greatly from space-sharing on a short-term rental basis. Hosting a space on Airbnb has been very good for us financially; our first space has already paid for itself twice in five years of operating it.
I know two single mothers who use their homes as host spaces, and the extra income has been a game changer. My neighbor, a single dad, turned an additional space detached from his home into an Airbnb and has been able to make enough to pay his mortgage for several months.
In extreme cases, STRs have been shut down completely in some cities and are no longer allowed to operate. I do not foresee that here in Little Rock, but it wouldn't break our hearts if we were forced to stop renting short-term and move to long-term. The money wouldn't be as good, but working every holiday and weekend for the last five years has been exhausting. So my concern is not for my own well-being but that of others.
I am confident there are numerous retirees in downtown Little Rock that have turned their homes into shared spaces and have enjoyed the extra income as well as the interaction that comes with meeting new people. It's good for the soul to be able to speak well of our city and point them toward good restaurants as well as places of interest.
Using your home to work out of is not a new idea. What's new is creating spaces where you can only live and not operate a business. Individuals using the resources they have at their disposal to climb the ladder of upward mobility and create wealth or income for themselves is--or should be--a right. Denying one's rights to use the few resources they have available to climb the ladder of upward mobility is oppression.
Unfortunately, some cities across the U.S. don't see the value Airbnb adds to people's lives the way we do. Many efforts have been made to restrict hosts under false pretenses. The complaints I hear most often are about business licensing, noise or parking, concerns about safety, and the desire for neighbors with long-term interests that buy into the community.
Business licensing, noise and parking complaints are not unique to short-term rentals. There are lots of people operating businesses that never get a business license. I've called the police on my neighbors for playing music too loud. Parking is either legal or illegal; simply enforce what is on the books. As far as safety is concerned, each space is inspected closely by guests, who are encouraged to write reviews good or bad about their experiences that will be made public.
If a space is unsafe, it's unsafe; it doesn't matter if someone stays there for one night or 1,000. To use this concern as an excuse is telling of true motives, and the idea that the city might add it to its list of responsibilities is unnecessary.
As for folks wanting neighbors with more long-term interests, this is the most legitimate concern. But there are a lot of things we as a community could do better to help encourage engagement that wouldn't negatively affect small businesses. Let's not use these concerns as an excuse.
If the city is intent on doing anything, it might consider empowering neighborhoods to make these decisions for themselves. It's not typical of politicians to give up power, but would make for a great example to others up the food chain.
Little Rock has the opportunity to either follow other metropolitan cities or set our own course as a city of opportunity. We can choose to grow the power of local leaders or the power of local businesses.
We have an incredible opportunity to make a statement: If you're a small business, we are a city on your side, if you are wanting to make your own way, we are the city to support you.
Little Rock can help by investing the first $2,500 toward a locally owned and locally designed app for space-sharing in central Arkansas. If I have a bone to pick with space-sharing websites, it's that some portion of the income I create gets sucked out and sent to some other city or country. I want my dollars kept local to the best of our ability.
Instead of setting up a task force to inspect a host's space, set up a task force that empowers hosts with resources--photographers, interior designers, lenders--to make them more competitive and improve guests' experiences.
Little Rock is being recognized at the national level. Are we going to move to support out-of-state and out-of-country owned hotels, or are we going to support businesses owned by our neighbors?
"A wise and frugal government, which ... shall leave [people] free to regulate their own pursuits of industry and improvement, and shall not take from the mouth of labor the bread it has earned--this is the sum of good government." --Thomas Jefferson
Mike Orndorff lives in the Pettaway neighborhood of Little Rock.
Editorial on 02/23/2020