Lets see, where should I start. Noise, noise, noise, and more noise, people driving very fast and not yielding to walkers or bikers, not enough parking in the driveway so the renters park in the road causing traffic congestion, often in front of our house and on top of our sprinkler heads, renters (many, but not all) generally being much less friendly, at best, compared to residents. In general, we have found that many short term renters just don't display the pride in ownership and neighborhood camaraderie that most residents display. And many short term renters seem to always be in a hurry, and dam to anyone that does not yield to them and possibly slows them down. And did I mention the noise?

I understand that to promote demand for homes from part-time residents and investors, as well as full time residents, the Villages did not put tight rental regulations in the deed restrictions. However, I don't think the developers ever anticipated that short term rentals like Airbnb would grow as it has. Hopefully something can be done to amend the deed restrictions so that short term rentals run out of a residential home, being used as a business, can be stopped.

Devil's advocate.

Is there a difference for the consumer between a few days through airbnb and the Villages Lifestyle visit for a few days? About the same piece ($99 a night) and includes a golf cart...

As a Landlord, I don't personally use Airbnb...Sent from my SM-N920R4 using Tapatalk

My children us Airbnb and love it. They get wonderful homes for very reasonable rates and many landlords allow them to bring Tank & Shiloh with them, two humongous German Shepards. For me, I don't like the idea at all. Just doesn't appeal to me. I like Hampton Inn & Suites and most Hilton Hotels.

We have rental units around us and have had no problems at all, but I have an idea how to deter the Airbnb from spreading if it ever became a problem for me. The renters rate the rental and probably wouldn't give high marks if they didn't enjoy their stay. Just kidding, I wouldn't do anything underhanded. Probably. Do you think anyone ever gives a review on their own rental? Maybe people give a bad review when they never stayed in a house. Maybe its none of my business unless it affects me.

A memory.

:1rotfl:

Fleas and Bed Bugs anyone!!!! Yuke

We have family coming for Thanksgiving this year and needed housing in our general area. I booked 2 very nice 2 bed, 2 bath cottage villas on Air BnB for 4 nights each. Very reasonable price in the location we wanted and much cheaper than staying in an area hotel, who seem to raise tier rates during any holiday period. We are dealing directly with the homeowners and not a management company which is reassuring.

:agree:

Here are some other thoughts to consider. We chose to become airbnb hosts after having some wonderful experiences in Europe and the States.
We are proud to be ambassadors for The Villages. The vast majortiy of our guests are people interested in moving to The Villages. Several of them wanted to stay with current residents of The Villages so they could ask questions and get personal opinions of living in The Villages. Several of them have bought homes here within months of their visit with us, including one couple who now lives near us. Other guests have stayed with us while visiting older relatives or in for family reunions. Some are current homeowners whose property is rented by others on a long term basis. We are almost always home when we have guests. We recommend they rent carts from The Villages or other reputable cart rental businesses. We also have hosted traveling nurses and other professionals who have the need to be in The Villages for short times. We also occasionally allow small dogs to visit with their owners which many hotels do not. Our home is thoroughly cleaned between visits at a level that I believe, as a former Hyatt Regency manager, quality hotels would envy.
In the eighty plus guests we have had over the years our rating has consistently been five star, the highest rating possible. We have never had a negative review. Some of our guests book us year after year. We have earned and maintained a "Super Host Rating" from AirBnb. We pay our transit rental taxes monthly. And yes we have turned down guest requests from people we felt uncomfortable with but we feel our lives have been enriched by the kind, considerate and diverse guests with have had the honor to meet.

For me, the issue isn't about how you feel or how your guests feel, it'a about how you neighbors and community feels. We all know that you rent to make money and help cover your costs, not be an Ambassador for The Villages. There are houses that have been rented with multiple families, with spring breakers that have great parties until the wee hours, and young kids abound since Disney is only an hour away. If there wasn't something in it for the house owner there wouldn't be AirBnB.

You say you are a host and an ambassador.
However you compare yourself to a Hotel business and say you pay your rental taxes.
I would say this is a BUSINESS.
My deed restrictions say a BUSINESS can not be operated out of a home.

In today's world, I find it astounding that anyone would let total strangers share their home. That seems extremely dangerous. I'm sure each person feels nothing bad could happen to them. I won't even address the fact that they are running a business from their home and bragging about their great reviews. I don't like the short-term rentals, but safety and security are a different concern. As for being ambassadors for The Villages, what a bunch of hogwash. It's all about the money.

Although I agree about letting strangers share my home, I fail to see how AirBnB is any different than renting a home here in The Villages, wether its a short or long term rental. I know several people who own homes who never intend to live here. How is that not a "business"?

There is a difference between a business and an investment. If you own a home and rent it out fulltime, the IRS will allow you to claim it as investment rental property, which gives you certain tax benefits, such as long term capital gain rates. They treat this as an investment, not a business. So, if the IRS would treat a BNB operation as a business, then it may be possible for The Villages to prohibit owners from operating BNBs here, but still allow investment property.

From the posts I've read here, most complaints about an Airbnb type setup are the resulting short term renters, not so much if there is a violation for running a business out of your home. Business or not, I see no difference in an Airbnb or one of the many rental companies here, the results of which result in short term renters.