GET TO KNOW SHORT-TERM RENTALS

MISCONCEPTION: STRs are owned or managed by Airbnb, Vrbo, and other booking platforms.

REALITY: Airbnb, Vrbo, and other platforms solely connect guests to hosts. They do not own or manage any of the properties subject to local regulations. Rather, STRs are owned and managed by members of our community. Therefore, regulations decided by city councils affect their livelihoods, not Airbnb’s.

MISCONCEPTION: STR owners are out-of-town investors or corporate developers.

REALITY: Chapel Hill is not an in-demand STR investment location (AirDNA gives it a score of 20 out of 100). The majority of STR owners are locals renting their homes to make a side income that helps them keep their homes, pay for their kids’ college education, save for or supplement their retirement, and cover other life expenses. In fact, 70% of STR owners earn enough to cover only half of their monthly mortgage payments. (1)

MISCONCEPTION: STRs aren’t taxed, giving them an unfair advantage over hotels.

REALITY: STRs in Chapel Hill are subject to the same 6% occupancy tax as local hotels. In fact, Airbnb and Vrbo/HomeAway collect and remit the occupancy tax automatically on all reservations booked on the platforms. (2,4,1)

MISCONCEPTION: STRs cause affordable housing problems.

REALITY: In Chapel Hill and most cities, whole-home STRs make up about 1% of all housing units, and of those, most are occupied by their owners. On the contrary, renting a home to guests helps local homeowners supplement their mortgages to be able to keep their homes.

Affordable housing problems are caused by a disparity between wages and real estate market factors. In Chapel Hill, median home prices are almost double the national average.

MISCONCEPTION: STRs decrease property values. 

REALITY: STRs can raise property values because their owners must keep them in good condition and attractive to renters.

MISCONCEPTION: STRs do not contribute to the local tourism economy.

REALITY: STRs make it possible for more people to visit and spend money in Chapel Hill. One in three travelers are unlikely to consider a destination if STRs are not an accommodation option. STRs provide an economic option for guests who need more space but cannot afford multiple hotel rooms and those who need access to amenities like kitchens to be able to cook their own meals. The average hotel nightly rate in Chapel Hill/Orange County is $126.13 (5), while the average nightly rate of a whole-home rental in Chapel Hill is $107 (2).

Additionally, STRs keep tourism dollars in our community and disperse them to local businesses in areas away from traditional hotel commercial areas.

MISCONCEPTION: STRs aren’t subject to safety requirements.

REALITY: STRs are subject to all local building codes and the safety requirements and recommendations of OTA platforms like Airbnb and Vrbo/HomeAway, such as fire extinguishers, exit maps, smoke detectors, and carbon monoxide detectors. Guests are made aware of any missing recommended safety features. Many non-owner occupied STRs (second homes) are also subject to the safety requirements of the NC Vacation Rental Act. 

MISCONCEPTION: STRs do not create or support local jobs.

REALITY: STRs rely on the services of local housekeepers, landscapers, maintenance technicians, pest control providers, property managers, and other property care specialists. Case studies have shown that for every new STR, four fractional jobs are created.

MISCONCEPTION: STR guests destroy the fabric of neighborhoods.

REALITY: The largest group of STR guests in Chapel Hill is Chapel Hill residents, and one-third of domestic guests are from the Triangle. Furthermore, 87% of STRs here are booked less than half the year (2).

MISCONCEPTION: STR guests rent homes to have parties or conduct illegal activities.

REALITY: The average STR guest is a 50-year-old woman traveling with a family of four. (1) In Chapel Hill, many guests are often patients at UNC Hospitals and/or their families, parents visiting their UNC students, business travelers, potential future residents scouting our town, or locals who are conducting renovations on their own homes or between the sale of their home and the purchase of another.

MISCONCEPTION: STR guests are noisy.

REALITY: There is no evidence STR guests are louder than long-term occupants. In fact, STR guests were found to be quieter than long-term occupants 4 out of 7 days a week. (3)