Please help keep northern VA STR-friendly

[Daniel Amsalem]

If you have an Airbnb in DC, Maryland, or Northern Virginia (NOVA) or want to, I'd ask you provide feedback to the City of Alexandria regarding their proposed regulations.

Regulations: https://www.alexandriava.gov/sites/default/files/2024-08/sho...

Feedback Form: https://www.research.net/r/AlexandriaVA-ShortTermRentals

Alexandria sets the example for all of DMV as the most permissible county/region. If we become heavily restricted, what chance does the rest of the DMV have to get their own regulations that make sense?

My suggestions:

* Requiring code compliance and safety equipment is absolutely valid and should be part of the regulations

* Requiring owners live within 15 miles is not necessary since poor hosts whether they're local or distant will violate the 3-5 warning system and earn a suspension. Great hosts will be good neighbors, will contribute to local tourism and will pay their taxes and permit fees

* A major area to improve on the proposal is the 1 hour time-limit for resolving complaints. Few of us are full-time hosts, instead we have day-jobs. A more realistic expectation is 24 hours which will ensure we can arrange any repairs or corrections with a team, handle it in person, etc.

[Ryan Moyer]

Quote from @Daniel Amsalem:

* A major area to improve on the proposal is the 1 hour time-limit for resolving complaints. Few of us are full-time hosts, instead we have day-jobs. A more realistic expectation is 24 hours which will ensure we can arrange any repairs or corrections with a team, handle it in person, etc.

This part is ridiculous.  I just stayed in a hotel in Moab and we had an A/C issue and it took two days to resolve and, honestly, that's not that out of line with my normal experience at hotels.

I don't know where people dreamed up this idea that all hotels have someone waiting outside your room ready to resolve anything in 5 minutes.  It taking half a day or a full day for someone to show up is completely commonplace at a hotel.  And many hotels don't have 24 hour desks or 24 hour service.

I don't get why all these newer regulations expect STRs to operate to standards that aren't even required of hotels with full-time staffs. Not every STR has to be a 4 Seasons and even those I've waited on service before and it's not like someone was breathing down their neck waiting to revoke their hotel license when it happened.