by Dennis Dalman
editor@thenewsleaders.com
Should Sartell residents be allowed to rent just a portion of their homes to short-term renters?
That issue came before the Sartell City Council at its Nov. 14 meeting after a resident requested the city’s rental ordinance be amended to allow such short-term rentals – one or two nights, a week, two weeks and so forth.
In a letter to the council, Sartell resident Julie Meyer said she has rented via an international online rental business known as Airbnb. That odd name stands for “Airline Bed and Breakfast.” People worldwide can go online and schedule short-term rentals virtually anywhere in the world while they are traveling. Such rentals can last days, or two weeks or more at such places as people’s homes, historic castles, rooms or suites of rooms and even on houseboats. The rental is strictly between the host renter and the rentees, although Airbnb gets a certain percentage from the transactions.
In her letter, Meyer stated she bought a four-bedroom, split-level home last year at 1005 Connecticut Ave. S. in Sartell. She found she really didn’t use one floor of the house and so she decided to rent it out short-term via Airbnb, a service Meyer used herself successfully while traveling. She applied for a rental license from the city and received one, but then in late October, last month, she received a notice from the city requesting her to cease the Airbnb short-term rentals.
Meyer said she was disappointed because her rental business is causing no disruptions, the renters are good, law-abiding people and while staying in her home they have a chance to learn about Sartell and to visit the businesses Meyer recommends. In her home, they have their own separate living quarters, and Meyer does not serve them meals, unlike some bed-and-breakfast facilities.
Short-term rentals are convenient, pleasant and economical, Meyer noted.
She asked the council to amend the city’s ordinance to make single-family residential homes allowable for short-term rentals. The council agreed to refer the matter to city staff for further research into other cities’ ordinances to see how they handle short-term rentals.
Background
Airbnb began in 2008 in San Francisco when two roommates had trouble paying the steep cost for their apartment flat. They decided to rent out part of it on a short-term basis to people needing a temporary place to stay while visiting the city.
The arrangement was so successful one of the roommates, Joe Gebbia, decided to start a business for travelers that came to be known as Airbnb. In just eight years, the rental services are now in 190 countries, with an estimated 60 million guest visits each year and two million rental listings in 43,000 cities.
Their popularity seems to grow as more travelers like the charm and out-of-the-way ambiance of homes rather than hotels/motels. In some cases, homeowners threatened with foreclosure decided to start Airbnb rentals as a way to afford to stay in their homes by supplementing income. In other cases, according to the Airbnb website, many home hosts enjoy meeting and being hospitable to travelers, often foreign ones from faraway places.