City Council Considers A Bill To Put Limits On Airbnb Operations
BALTIMORE (WJZ) — If you're traveling and looking for a place to stay with all the comforts of home, short-term rentals may be the way to go.
Now operators of Airbnb's in Baltimore are afraid they may be regulated out of business.
The City Council is considering a bill to license, tax and limit operations of short-term rentals in the city to 60 nights a year.
Rachel Indek of the Baltimore Hosts Coalition operates 15 short term rentals in the city.
"This bill with capping us at 60 nights a year will basically shut us down," Indek said. "And there will be hundreds of short-term rental hosts that will be out of business."
The Baltimore Hosts Coalition is asking the council to take the cap out of the bill and remove a proposed limit on the number of licenses an operator can buy.
But the Maryland Hotel Lodging Association supports the bill as is.
"From a competitive standpoint, we are especially concerned by the growth of essentially unlicensed hotels facilitated by platforms like Airbnb, HomeAway and others," Association President Amy Rohrer said.
A representative from Air Bnb was also at the hearing and suggested working with the council to produce the best outcome for all concerned.
The bill will get further review. There are more than 800 members of the Baltimore Hosts Coalition.
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