Open Letter to the New Orleans City Planning Commission
I’ve always loved the spirit of New Orleans. It’s a city people want to be a part of, whether for the weekend or for years, and this passion for the community translates into rigorous local debates. As a lifelong local policymaker, I love this investment in the community and understand both the perspectives of city residents and the legislators.
The debate over the place of short-term rentals, or STRs, in New Orleans’ tourism industry is no different. Everyone, including homeowners, business owners, renters, and local leaders, have well-founded opinions on how the city should approach regulating STRs.
While vacation rentals have been around for decades, platforms like HomeAway, VRBO, and Airbnb have brought them right to people’s fingertips. Travelers are more and more turning to them when booking vacations, and folks coming to New Orleans are no different. In 2013 alone, these STRs generated nearly $174.8 million in economic activity, supporting 2,200 jobs in New Orleans. As that positive impact expands, many have embraced short-term rentals as a catalyst for development in underserved areas; but others, either out of a misunderstanding or a fear of STRs, have taken a more heavy-handed approach.
Having spent most of my life in local government, first as a representative of San Francisco in the State Assembly, and then as San Francisco’s first African-American mayor, I know first-hand how difficult it is to meet the needs of so many different stakeholders. Becoming a “master of compromise” is a long, arduous process, but a necessary one as well. In this short-term rental debate, any ordinance must address the concerns of community members while acknowledging the incredible force for good traditional vacation rentals and home sharing provides New Orleans residents and their communities.
Indeed, even while STRs have exploded in popularity, traditional users are still mostly families looking to stay together in unique parts of the city. STRs simply add to the rich array of accommodations available in neighborhoods and provide affordable alternatives in less-trafficked areas of town. Whether it’s because they want to immerse themselves in the local culture or because they enjoy the comforts of home after a long day of sight-seeing, these people, as well as the local businesses they frequent during their stays, have reaped the benefits.
Again, as I say above, tourists aren’t the only ones who win in the STR economy; communities also flourish. STR visitor spending has a substantial effect on the local economy: the corner café serves more coffee and hires more people; the local boutique sells more clothes and opens another branch across town; and the once-vacant cinema bustles with patrons. In historically underserved areas, this surge in activity can improve the livelihoods of residents and strengthen minority-owned businesses. Ultimately, this helps create stronger, more inclusive communities.
With all that said, I understand the concerns surrounding short-term rentals. Several neighborhood groups have filed complaints against STR users, and some claim STRs contribute to housing shortages. During my time in San Francisco, I carefully considered all concerns, but I always sought to separate anecdotal evidence from hard data. To this point, platforms like HomeAway and VRBO have been an integral part of New Orleans’s travel and tourism economy for years. Legislation should seek to impose reasonable taxes on STRs and enforce smart oversight requirements that eliminate bad actors, all while acknowledging the clear advantages of a healthy STR industry to the local economy and bringing additional revenue to local governments.
I know the people of New Orleans care about their city, and they want to protect its reputation among our nation’s finest metropolitan areas and top travel destinations. For this exact reason, the New Orleans City Planning Commission would be remiss to enact laws that ban certain types of STRs, a move that applies the outdated views of the past to an industry of tomorrow.
