Limit Short Term Rentals could hurt

We live in an exciting new sharing economy with companies like Airbnb, Uber and Lyft challenging traditional business models. Change can be scary, but it can also offer new opportunity. We know that striking a balance between supporting residents with a rising cost of living, local businesses that rely on tourists, a city reliant on sales tax revenue, and neighbors who want a peaceful place to live can be tricky. Each of us has a stake in this game and deserves to be heard. That’s the Wimberley way.

When the STR committee was formed we were given a multitude of reasons to be concerned. Traditionally each council member appoints a committee member, but here the rules were changed. The chair is an Austin resident who owns a hotel, which is arguably a glaring conflict of interest seeing that he is proposing to regulate his very competition. Throughout their weekly meetings conversation seems to have trended toward the need to restrict, regulate and monitor, with the counter argument about value of STRs to our tourism economy seemingly absent. We’ve had no economic impact study and the integrity of the data used by the committee is concerning, mostly provided by the chair or compliance company sales pitches. The committee proposes for STR CUPs to renew annually at a fee of up to $500, yet no study has been performed to determine how many currently operating rooms might disappear as a result. No other CUP type has a renewal requirement.

Our tourism economy runs deep and the effects of the STR committee proposals could be far reaching. Let’s take a step back, invite all stakeholders to the conversation, learn from larger cities with greater budgets, and encourage transparent and ethical city practices. Bottom line: if we restrict rooms then we restrict tourism, and if we restrict tourism then many Wimberley residents will suffer.

Jennifer Ober and

Gregory Dunham