By Jeff Veazey
Party houses and property rights — between the people who are for a reasonable short-term rental ordinance and the people who want to ban everything they disagree with, there are people who are impacted economically.
A local property manager for a small HOA, Blaise Genco, has no short-term rental property of his own, but has a member of his association who does have an STR.
“What the city is considering is ridiculous and will only hurt the city and property owners,” Genco said. “It will bring down tourism and much-needed money spent in our local shops. It seems particularly poorly thought out during this time period of the pandemic.”
An Austin business owner, Azure Grillo, considered what a restrictive ordinance, like the one Austin adopted and has been held unconstitutional by the 3rd Court of Appeals, would mean for her frequent Dallas business trips.
“I do not believe that I could effectively and financially conduct my business in Dallas. Due to the size of the team and especially during the pandemic, short-term rentals allow me to keep my costs low, and my team together,” Grillo said. “I look to the short-term rental as my primary lodging source when I come to Dallas.”
More importantly are the cleaners, contractors, and local businesses that serve STRs. Many of Dallas’ best businesses and a number of STRs are not in the central business or high tourist traffic areas. Coffee shops, restaurants, and small retail in neighborhoods like Oak Cliff, and the White Rock area, profit from people staying at nearby STRs.
”We’re a neighborhood diner, but we have benefited from the short-term rentals in our area,” said George Sanchez, owner of Goldrush Cafe in East Dallas. “Owners take our menu home and have it available to their guests. It isn’t a huge part of our business but every meal counts when you are small.”
An East Dallas host shared some of his guest reviews, which highlight how hosts feed the economic health of their neighborhoods acting as ambassadors for the city.
“…hosts were incredibly hospitable… communicated about local food places, such a peaceful experience in a quiet neighborhood…”
Tess
“We were new to Texas… [hosts] offered suggestions about where to find apartments, locations to visit, places to eat…”
Naveena“…hosts… were welcoming and great with contact and information.”
MichaelSometimes the short-term rental debate seems like another thing that divides us. It is important to remember that no one wants to live next to a party house and there are a lot of good people who get hurt when we target real problems with unreasonable, overreaching solutions.
The role of government is governance. That means not restricting private property rights or the economic activity of 99 percent of the people simply because Code Enforcement is not cracking down on the 1 percent.
Jeff Veazey is a retired housing lawyer, the former Directing Attorney of the Dallas Tenants Association, and a short-term rental owner/operator.
