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Why Some Don't Want Airbnb Legal in Virginia, Yet

If you’re planning a trip, you might book a hotel. But increasingly people are turning to websites like Airbnb, where homeowners rent out a room or house directly to travelers. 

In Virginia, there are more than 3,500 listings to choose from. The problem? Many are actually illegal. Now, state lawmakers are considering stepping in and changing that. 

Instead of getting a roommate, Kristina Kelly, rents our her second bedroom for $80 a night through Airbnb. Since September, she's hosted more than 50 guests.

“Generally we’re talking about younger people for the most part. Typically, 20s and 30’s. A lot of people come for medical school interviews or residency interviews, business meetings. Sometimes they’re just coming for a weekend escape to Richmond,” said Kelly.

It’s not just the financial perks she likes, although it does give her income a nice boost each month. She also enjoys meeting people and sharing her city.

“You have recommendations for ‘Hey check out this little coffee shop, check out this little awesome record store.’ Things like that,” said Kelly.

Kelly’s guests aren’t alone in wanting an inexpensive, yet personal, travel experience. According to travel industry research firm Phocuswright, one in 4 travelers stayed in private accommodation in 2014 -- up from one in 10 just three years before.

But many cities don't know how to deal with the rise of this informal sharing economy. It often conflicts with local planning and zoning requirements, including in Richmond -- where it’s illegal to rent out your home on a short-term basis.

But bed and breakfasts, like the one operated by Anna Currence, are still subject to to those planning requirements. Currence owns and operates the Museum District B&B, a beautiful old house in the middle of Richmond’s Fan District. She rents her rooms at an average of $150 a night and they are almost always full. 

The carriage house suite at Anna Currence’s Museum District Bed and Breakfast.

But getting there, wasn’t easy. It took Currence six months to open her business, and there was even a public comment period. 

“You put up a sign in your front yard, that stays for weeks, and during that time there’s a number that anybody can call and they can see what you’re about to do and they can complain, or not complain,” said Currence.

Currence had to pay an up front fee of $1,500 for a special use permit. She also had to go before the planning commission, and eventually even city council.

Currence says business has been great, in spite of competition from Airbnb. But she wishes the competition were at least fair. Last year she paid nearly $7,000 in sales tax, a burden that many Airbnb hosts don’t carry.

“My point is just for them to become licensed, to be inspected, to do what the rest of us do,” said Currence.

Cities, though, have been holding back from coming up with a regulatory framework. They’re waiting to see what happens at the General Assembly, where lawmakers are close to legalizing Airbnb statewide. But Fairfax, Williamsburg, Roanoke and other localities don’t support the measure because it doesn’t require hosts to register with the local authorities. 

“At some point these people are operating a business, and at what point do they have to then act like a business?” asked Jay Smith, spokesman for the Virginia Restaurant Lodging and Travel Association.  

Smith argues that no accountability, is no way to regulate a business.

“You have to be charging an occupancy tax if you rent out your home,” said Smith. “But the local government doesn’t know who is renting out their home. It’s the honor system that you’re left with. And we just don’t believe that every host is going to abide by the honor system.”

The bill does suggest Airbnb collect taxes for its’ hosts -- a service it already provides to users in Alabama, Illinois, and soon in DC. But Airbnb does not currently collect and return taxes to Virginia.

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