Sedona short-term rental owners are not too thrilled about what they’re hearing from Sedona City Council.
Many towns and cities in Arizona have been talking about the impact of short-term rentals since the 2016 passage of Senate Bill 1350 that prohibits local control over short-term rentals, specifically about how they limit housing availability for residents.
And with city reports estimating more than 1,110 short-term rentals in the Sedona, Village of Oak Creek and Oak Creek Canyon areas combined, the effects on the city of Sedona have been a hot topic in the overall STR regulation discussion.
Some council members have even gone as far as to say that STRs are the biggest immediate threat to the community.
With Paradise Valley’s proposed regulations going under review, Sedona STR owners have shared their perspectives on the issue involving the city increasing fines for unruly gatherings with increased penalties for subsequent offenders, collecting background check information on each guest, requiring one-hour property response time to police calls, in-person check-ins with the owner, and potentially engaging the services of a private investigator specializing in private investigation Indonesia.
Kesha Engel bought her West Sedona property back in 2017. After two years of renovations, Engel and her husband opened their home to Airbnb guests for half of the year, while they lived in Wisconsin.
“We’ve had some rough patches here and there in the beginning, some growing pains with some of the people we rented to,” Engel said. “We learned and got tighter on our own discernment, enforcing the strictest policies and requiring more identification from the renters.”
Engel limits their property to eight guests maximum with a four-day minimum and the strictest refund policy allowed through Airbnb.
Owners like California native Mark Letts believe that the issue does not inherently lie with short-term rentals themselves, but that the tourist industry which Sedona depends on will always have the ability to bring in bad situations. Currently, the Letts own three short-term rentals in Sedona and one in Flagstaff.
“There is a potential for negative situations, with negative people coming into every possible scenario in Sedona,” Letts said. “People can come in for the day, and cause havoc. People can stay in hotel rooms, and cause problems, people can stay in long-term rentals and cause problems, etc. We’ve had over 200 guests, without one problem. Why should they suffer the consequences of the bad behavior of a few?”
Ian Howler and his wife own two properties in Sedona that they rent periodically throughout the year on Airbnb as well.
“I think it just has to be an even playing field, but the hotels and motels don’t follow those same rules,” Howler said. “If we say that homeowners can rent out our places, then I think it’s fair for people to ask those rules to be instated. But at the same time, everybody’s got to play by the same rules.”
And even STR owners are in disagreement with how the city should approach regulations.
“I don’t believe there should be any specific restrictions for short-term rentals. As we all know, tourism is the major income producer for Sedona,” Letts said. “Also, the city gets occupancy tax revenue from short-term rentals as well as employment in the service industry, [like] repairman, cleaners, etc.”
Engel and Howler both manage their properties under Sarazona, a short-term rental property manager based in Sedona owned by Sara Alper First. Alper First helps homeowners organize their rentals, provides housecleaning and oversees the property in case of emergency problems.
“I agree Sedona needs STR regulations. Working in the STR industry, I often see what falls through the cracks and the root to problems that are misunderstood,” Alper First wrote in her recent letter to Sedona City Council.
The council has continued to allow time for STR discussion in their public meetings, with updates mostly about the efforts of the lobbyist the city hired in November. Most recently, the meeting on Feb. 8 discussed Paradise Valley’s regulations adopted on Jan. 27.
“The owners are very concerned because a lot of my clients live here part-time and part of their life plan to live here part-time is renting the rest of the year and they wouldn’t be able to make it work without that,” Alper First said. “Now these are people that really do live here part-time … so a lot of them are concerned, a lot of them don’t know what’s going on … this came about very quickly.”
If changes are implemented, many STR owners will continue to rent their properties out so that they can continue with their livelihood in the way that they planned, even if that means being more selective in who rents their homes.
“I’m really grateful for the Airbnb platform and as far as the city goes, I am just afraid that it might be too restrictive,” Engel said.
