Short Term Rental Community Advocates

SHARING PHILADELPHIA TIMELINE

 JULY

Created the Philadelphia Short Term Rental Association (nicknamed “Sharing Philadelphia”) from scratch.

Built connections with Airbnb, Expedia, and the Airbnb Hosts of Philadelphia - this association now updates over 2,000 hosts with crucial information and fights for them on their behalf!

 AUGUST

Hosted an in-person awareness event that was supported by Airbnb and Expedia - this introduced the board members behind Sharing Philadelphia, the current information on the STR ban, and our strategy to stop the ban. This event exceeded our expected turnout even with COVID restrictions. This was also recorded and shared live so that over 2,000 hosts could have access to the important information shared in this session.

 AUGUST – NOVEMBER

Hosted multiple virtual awareness and fundraiser events, utilizing Theron Lewis, The STR Regulations Guy’s network and Clubhouse profile to raise significant awareness of this issue worldwide.

OCTOBER

Successfully procured the perfect Political Consultants that had the proper relationships, skills, and background to help us succeed.

Our new Consultants began working diligently to get us in the room with City Council members, help strategize based on their connections to these officials, and raise awareness of the severity of this issue with Council Members.

Being introduced by them to City Council officially and professionally as an official organization with thousands of members was crucial to be taken seriously by City Council so that our collective voices can be heard and actual change can be made.

DECEMBER

Met privately with Councilman Thomas and key officials on his team that have influence and input into the licensing and rulemaking process.

Councilman Thomas is a City Councilman at Large and deals with issues spanning the entire city.

Councilman Thomas and his team were very receptive to our claims and concerns and promised the following:

•  Speaking with other council members with the intention of reviewing the guidelines of the Permitting Process (This is what is banning 90% of the industry if not implemented correctly), and possibly alter the process to include the majority of the industry.

•  Seeing if the decision date of April 2022 could be delayed in order to provide for more preparation and a better outcome for all.

City council went from not listening to us no matter how much we shouted, to making a direct and personal connection with many of our fellow hosts, explaining important details of what’s happening “behind the scenes”, why this ban was proposed, and then making actual efforts to postpone this decision and change it for the better.

JANUARY 2022

Continued discussions behind closed doors with the City Council President & council members to discuss this pending legislation with the goal of it being changed for all of us.

APRIL  2022 

L & I is no longer in charge of enforcing the ordinance at this point and this has now been turned over to the Director of Commerce.  There is an equity issue here and this ordinance would negatively affect the diverse business owners of Philadelphia and the under-represented local business community. 

We have officially & formally been invited to the table and have met in May.  

We were able to get a determination that there is an unofficial moratorium on fines and enforcements of this ordinance until July 1st 

So, our goals are:

To get the rules that are banning hosts to be changed or removed, and

To extend the moratorium PAST July 1st until those changes or removals are finalized. Our goal is to make sure that no one gets banned and that all hosts are still able to operate as usual until these rules are adjusted or removed. 

MAY 23, 2022  

Meeting with Councilwoman Sanchez, we were able to have our consultants with us in this meeting as well as some hosts that are affected directly - some that own several properties, some own maybe only 1 or 2, some that are minority owned, some that are not.  We were able to present a nice diverse cross sampling to get our points across.
 

Councilwoman Sanchez very deeply resonates with our members and our cause.  She has stated that she wants what we want.  She has experience with STRs in her own community and neighborhood and she truly understands the equity side of things and is very much aligned with us and our intentions.
 
We presented a data sheet and she understands the amount of time and cost that it will take to just apply for, let alone actually receive a license or a variance is way outside of a fair or acceptable limit (Over $1000, and well over 150 hours).
 

In addition, she also is aware of and relates to the older generation of Hosts that rely on this income for their retirement to be able to live. In a nutshell, the demographic that our Hosts make-up are her community and shared interest - it is to her benefit as well as ours for her to be aligned with our goals.
 

We are hopeful that with our continued efforts to present and share all of the information and how it deeply effects the lives, businesses, community and livelihood of our diverse hosts we can come to a fair and formidable end result that will not cause the loss of over 90% of STRs in Philly. IF not, this will sadly be the end of an industry for small business owners/minorities/people of color/homeowners, and retirees that rely in this for their income at the later part of their lives.

June 23,  2022

A Compromise has been struck with the city currently that allows more crucial time for advocacy before any further implementation. They will be revisiting this by January of 2023 so we must still continue to work on getting this changed or removed. The issue remains .

Philadelphia is a city that has always embraced technology, entrepreneurship and the rights of many – we can not allow this to continue to be stifled. Philadelphia is the home of Benjamín Franklin, the first street lights, the first Fire Fighters, a place where there has and should continue to be equality between big business and small business in the digital era.

If you have used ABB, or have stayed in the city, this is something that should matter to you, and you should advocate for this as well.

Will Technology be used to help small businesses grow the city even more, or will this sadly be used for big business only?

 3 Ways Short-Term Rentals Impact Philadelphia & Its Residents 

Article by Ed Sena
Sharing Philadelphia Member + Host

Airbnb continues to dominate in the home sharing market as it continues to expand its cultural influence. The company is growing more than ever with over 160,000,000 guests having used Airbnb in over 65,000 cities.

It’s easy to see why staying in a Philadelphia short-term rental (STR) is so appealing. Guests have the opportunity to stay in homes with multiple bedrooms, stocked kitchens, offices, yards, and even swimming pools. Many STRs offer a more authentic experience and all at a lower costs to visitors.

As platforms such as Airbnb continue to grow, cities are increasingly interested in deciding how best to address the impact of STRs in their communities. Regulations and ordinances are being implemented at the city, town, and even neighborhood levels. And run the gamut of being common sense win-win solutions to more strict “shut’em down” proposals.

As Philadelphia city council continues to discuss and draft an ordinance that we hope provides a positive path forward for everyone, we wanted to take a look at how STRs impact Philadelphia hosts and their families: